Magistrates cannot run mobile court from office: HC
The court said executive magistrates need to be more careful in enforcing mobile court laws
Executive magistrates cannot conduct mobile courts from their offices, the High Court (HC) observed on Thursday.
The court said executive magistrates need to be more careful in enforcing mobile court laws and proper training regarding relevant laws needs to be ensured for them.
An HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice made these observations in the course of a hearing of an apology by Assistant Commissioner (AC Land) Razia Sultana of Netrokona, who jailed two minors for getting married.
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"Mobile courts cannot be conducted from offices; the court must be present at the place of incident," the HC said in Thursday's hearing.
Sultana apologised for punishing the juveniles by conducting mobile court from her office and a copy of her prayer was filed with the HC on Wednesday through the attorney general's office.
On Thursday, the HC directed the Netrokona Additional District Magistrate (ADM) to dispose of her apology.
AC Sultana had sent two minors, both 15 years old, to the Gazipur Child Development Centre for a month under the Child Marriage Restraint Act on 1 August.
However, the HC ordered them to be released on 4 August, issuing the order upon taking cognisance of an application emailed to it by Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir.
Manir also prayed for action against Sultana who jailed the minors in violation of an HC order which had earlier ruled that no juvenile could be punished by mobile courts.
Sultana's mobile court sentenced the minors after the police brought them to her office at night upon her order, although mobile courts are required to deliver judgement at the site of an offence.
Later, on 5 August, Netrokona's Deputy Commissioner Kazi Md Abdur Rahman informed the High Court that the court of the additional district magistrate (ADM) declared the judgement against the minors 'invalid' and ordered their release after hearing the separate appeals filed by the guardians of the minors on 4 August.
AC Razia Sultana was also asked to submit a written explanation to the ADM's court within seven days, regarding her action. The HC later asked the deputy commissioner to forward a copy of her explanation to the HC by 28 August to secure it.
