Guidelines on Remand
33. If the Magistrate is satisfied that the accusation or the information is well-founded and that
there are materials in the case diary for detaining the person in custody, the Magistrate shall pass
an order for further detention in jail. Otherwise, he shall release the person forthwith.
- If the Magistrate passes an order for further detention in jail, the Investigating officer shall
interrogate the accused if necessary for the purpose of investigation in a room constructed with
glass wall in the jail;
- In the application for taking the accused in police custody for interrogation, the investigating
officer shall state reasons for it;
- The police officer of the police station, or the Investigating officer who takes a person in police
custody or the jailor of the jail, shall at once inform the nearest Magistrate of the death of any
person who dies in custody.
- A Magistrate shall inquire into the death of a person in police custody or in jail immediately
after receiving information of such death.
- If the arrested person is taken on police remand, he must be produced before the Magistrate
after the expiry of the period of such remand and in no case he shall be sent to the judicial
custody after the period of such remand without producing him before the Magistrate.
- Registration of a case against the arrested person is sine-qua-non for seeking the detention of
the arrestee either to the police custody or in the judicial custody under section 167(2) of the
Code.
The court directed the Government to implement the recommendations made above in BLAST vs
Bangladesh case within six month from the date of the judgment. In this judgment, the court also
made detailed recommendations for the necessary amendments to the relevant sections of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the Penal Code, 1860 and the Evidence Act, 1908 to ensure
that the directions, guidelines and safeguards enunciated in the judgment are strictly followed as
a matter of law.
The guidelines delivered in these two judgments are yet to be implemented by the government
by undertaking necessary amendments or change in the relevant provisions of the Cr. P. C. The
government had filed appeal against these judgments and as a result, these cases are still pending
in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The NHRC believes that implementation of
these guidelines requires political will on the part of the government.
Article 10
Rights of prisoners
34. The state report describes various laws on prisoners' rights and prison management.33 But it
hardly addresses the dismal scenario of rights of prisoners and prison management. The
existing law says that persons deprived of liberty are to be treated with humanity and with
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person But prison conditions in Bangladesh are
harsh due to overcrowding, lack of medical facilities and lack of proper sanitation contributing
to custodial death. Sometimes political prisoners are subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
33
Para 112 of the State report.
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