A Supreme Court lawyer on Monday filed a public interest litigation, challenging the legality of the incorporation of a new provision amending the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act 1973 in 2009 to make it possible to try any person or group of persons on charge of committing war crimes in 1971.
In the writ petition the lawyer, Md Rezaul Karim, said that by inclusion of the new provision to try individuals or groups besides members of the defence and auxiliary forces and prisoners of war, the fundamental right
of the individual to move the Supreme Court for any remedy has been taken away.
The petition also said, 'The insertion of the words — any 'individual' or 'group of individuals' — in the Act of 1973 by its amendment in 2009 is a violation of Article 47 (3) of the Constitution which stipulates that the fundamental rights can only be taken away from four categories of people, which include members of the armed, defence and auxiliary forces and prisoners of war.'
The writ petition said that due to incorporation of the terms 'any individual' or 'group of individuals', about 70 million people of 1971 have become vulnerable and subjected to prosecution, which was not contemplated in Article 47(3) of the Constitution.
Rezaul Karim also challenged the incorporation of another provision in the Act which permits the appointment of Supreme Court judges as chairmen or members of the International Crimes Tribunal for holding war crimes trials.
The petition also said that the inclusion of the provision for appointing Supreme Court judges to the Tribunal as members or chairmen was also violation of Article 94(3) of the Constitution which permits the High Court judges to sit only in the HC division.
Source: New Age
