‘I now ask you for justice’

"Sir, I have been raped. We are very poor. We have no money for moving the case. I want justice from you."

These were the words of a 15-year-old girl, as she spoke directly to the High Court bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Shahed Nuruddin while they were deciding on which case to hear next.

In a rare instance, this teenager appeared before the bench yesterday morning along with her mother, all the way from Nilphamari, to seek justice for herself.

The lower court concerned in Nilphamari had earlier acquitted the accused in the rape case she had filed.

The judges and lawyers present at the courtroom were astonished and curious, as the girl approached them.

Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, presiding judge of the bench, then asked her what happened to her and who the woman with her was.

"She is my mother," the girl replied, adding, "I am 15 years old. I have been raped by a member of the BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh]. The lower court in Nilphamari has acquitted the offender. We have no money to fight the legal battle. I now ask you [HC judges] to give me justice."

The bench then asked if she had any documents of the rape case with her. She placed them before the judges.

The bench then asked whether any panel lawyer from the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee (SCLAC) was present in the courtroom to provide the girl with legal assistance.

A woman responded and said she was interested in representing the girl.

Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim handed over the papers to the SCLAC panel lawyer and asked her to take necessary steps.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappi said he will be enquiring the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Nilphamari regarding the rape case and the acquittal. "We will then take the next course of action."

The girl herself or the state can move an appeal before the HC challenging the trial court verdict, he said.

DAG Sarwar, however, could not share the details of the rape case.