Lawyers have said that the special tribunal for the prevention of repression of women and children has the jurisdiction to handle cases from areas which are not listed.
Last August, a woman was raped in Khulna Railway police station, which raised questions about the jurisdiction of the tribunal because the police station was not listed by the tribunal.
Advocate Farid Ahmed of women and children repression prevention tribunal-3, said: “A woman alleged that she was raped at the office of a Khulna Railway police station, GRP; later, when she was taken to court accused of drugs possession, she openly accused the police of violating her. When the woman was brought before the tribunal, the judge did not accept the case since railway police station was not listed. However, the next day, the statement of the woman was taken and the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) asked to investigate.
ADIG Rezaul Karim said: “If the case is lodged correctly then by rule it will go under the jurisdiction of the court.”
Supreme court lawyer Aminul Islam said: “There may be several women and children courts in one district and they have jurisdiction over the whole district; to speed up the work, police stations have been divided under each court but that does not limit the power of the judiciary and they can operate all over the district.”