LEGAL NOTICE for JUSTICE

(Registered with A/D)

Date: 28.03.2023

To

1. Secretary, Cabinet of Bangladesh, Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka;
2. Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka;
3. Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka;
4. Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs; Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka;
5. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Police Bhaban, Phulbaria, Dhaka.

——Notice Receivers

From:

Tanoy Kumer Saha,

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh,

Room No. 5/9, Eastern Commercial Complex, 73, Kakrail, Dhaka.

On behalf of:

Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM),

Bangladesh Chapter represented by Pradip Chandra,

Legal General Counsel, Sontosh Chandra Road, Dhaka- 2014.

——Notice Sender

Subject:

Praying for taking necessary actions to protect persons and properties of the citizens of Bangladesh belonging to religious minority from eviction, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape and killing as well as to protect the fundamental rights of the religious minorities and to bring the miscreants of the gruesome activities before the justice and to form an investigation Committee to inquire into the incidences (as continuously reported in the daily newspapers) of evictions, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape and killing of the citizens of Bangladesh belonging to religious minority.    

Dear Notice Receivers,

I have been instructed by my aforesaid client to write you as follows:

1. That my client is a Human Rights Activist and working to establish human rights in Bangladesh;
2. That all citizens of Bangladesh have been provided the rights, by the provision of Constitution of Bangladesh, equally to enjoy equal protection of law, to acquire property and protection of home but the citizens belonging to the religious minority are depriving from the above mentioned fundamental rights as guaranteed by the provisions of Constitution as reported in the daily newspapers;
3. That you the notice receivers are being continuously failed to perform the duties and responsibilities vested upon to protect the religious minority from eviction, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape and killing as well as to protect the fundamental rights of the religious minorities;
4.  That you the notice receivers are utterly failed to bring the miscreants before the Justice and your such failure as well as ignorance are encouraging the miscreants to become more ferocious to the religious minority;
5.  That your such failure and ignorance is the main cause for the continuous violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Bangladesh belonging to the religious minority and off course, the news of such gruesome incidents are being telecasted, printed through various print and electronic medias and obviously, in the era of globalization, the news are decreasing the reputation of our Government as well as of Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh as well as of the State;
6.  That according to the 2001 Bangladesh Population Census, the total size of the Hindu population was 11.4 Million, Assuming the 1961 population share of the Hindu Population (18.4%), the absolute size of the Hindu Population in 2001 would have been 22.8 million instead of 11.4 million as reported in the census. The Hindu population of Bangladesh fell by 0.59 percentage points to 7.95% in 2022 from 8.54% in 2011, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). According to the 2022 census, Muslim population increased by 0.60 percentage points to 91% from 90.4% in 2011, while Buddhist population fell marginally by 0.01 percentage points to 0.61% from 0.62% in 2011. Over the past 50 years, the total population of the country has more than doubled, but the Hindu population in Bangladesh has dropped by around 7.5 million (75 lakh) compared to what it should have been based on their percentage at the time of Bangladesh’s creation. The number of Buddhists, Christian and persons of other religions has remained more or less constant. In 2020, despite the pandemic-induced lockdowns,  Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote reported over 40,000 incidents of anti-Hindu violence – 149 killed, 53 raped, 7,036 injured, 2623 forcibly converted, 370 murtis vandalized, 2125 Hindu families either evicted or forced to leave the country (not counting those who were threatened to leave but have resisted till now), 1055 land grabbing cases and much more.
7.  That it is now open secret that the reduction is caused by the continuous eviction, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape to the minorities and these crimes in aggregate amounts to genocidal crime and crime against humanity under the definition of Article Nos. 6 and 7 of Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) wherein Bangladesh is a signatory party.
8.  That it is required to mention here that several writ petitions were filed (Writ Petition Nos. 176/2000, 6556/2001, 3380/2006) before the Hon’ble High Court Division for protecting the minorities from such eviction, torture, humiliation, persecution and rape and in all, Rule Nisi was issued by the Hon’ble High Court Division wherein the inaction of the Notice Receivers to protect the persons and properties of the religious minorities was challenged and the Rules are still pending;     
9.  That the notice sender believes that only for the reason of your honest and dedicated effort, it’s possible to bring the war criminals of 1971 after about 50 years and the killers of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman and his family members before justice and punish them according to the laws and we the notice senders also believe that you the Notice Receivers taking necessary actions can stop such gruesome incidence to the religious minorities.   

In this present context and circumstances, on behalf of my clients you the Notice Receivers are cordially requested to take necessary actions within 5 days from receipt of this notice to protect persons and properties of the citizens of Bangladesh belonging to religious minority from eviction, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape and killing as well as to protect the fundamental rights of the religious minorities and to bring the miscreants of the gruesome activities before the justice and to form an investigation Committee to inquire into the incidences of evictions, torture, humiliation, persecution, rape and killing of the citizens of Bangladesh belonging to religious minority and off course, to protect the reputation of  our Government as well as of Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh and failing which, I have  clear instructions from my clients to file an application under Article 102 of the Constitution of Bangladesh before the Hon’ble High Court Division.

A copy of this notice is preserved in my chamber for future reference.

Thanking you and without prejudice.

(Tanoy Kumer Saha)

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.