The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) has filed a landmark Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, calling for an urgent judicial inquiry into the epidemic of sexual violence against women and girls, with particular attention to the systematic and disproportionate targeting of minorities.
This filing represents the culmination of nearly two decades of HRCBM’s legal struggle to uphold the fundamental rights of Bangladesh’s minorities. Since its first petition in 2006—filed in the aftermath of pogroms under the BNP–Jamaat coalition government—HRCBM has consistently turned to the courts in pursuit of justice for the country’s most vulnerable communities.
On August 1, 2025, HRCBM convened a historic seminar at the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association Hall, where survivors, rights advocates, senior jurists, and the press bore witness to harrowing testimonies of abduction, sexual assault, gang rape, and mob violence. These accounts laid bare the systematic persecution endured by minority women and girls and underscored the pressing need for judicial intervention.
Building on the momentum of that event, HRCBM’s new PIL seeks a high-powered judicial inquiry into the escalating wave of sexual violence across Bangladesh, demanding accountability, structural reforms, and special protections for minority women and girls who remain uniquely vulnerable to targeted brutality.
Background
Between 2001 and 2006, minorities in Bangladesh endured a reign of terror under the BNP–Jamaat coalition government, marked by the mass rapes of women and girls, murders of men, women, and children, and the widespread pillaging of minority properties. In 2009, a government-appointed Commission of Inquiry headed by Judge Muhammad Sahabuddin described the atrocities in Char Fasson as “worse than the Polish war crimes during the Second World War.” (please refer page 13 of Bangladesh Gazette No. 44.00.0000.056.05.011.09-94)
The Awami League–led Bangladesh government initially published the Sahabuddin Commission report in 2014, but subsequently suppressed it from public reference, fearing that its findings would confirm that crimes committed against minorities during the BNP–Jamaat regime portrayed the country as a “barbaric nation in the eyes of the world,” as referenced by counsel for the writ. The report also carried grave implications of state complicity in genocidal crimes against minorities.
Despite repeated promises, successive governments have failed to act. Today, Bangladesh faces an alarming escalation of violence that has reached pandemic proportions under the current government. Reports compiled by Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) reveal:
342 rape cases were officially recorded in less than three months during the first quarter of 2025.
87% of the victims were girls under 18 years of age.
40 victims were children between infancy and six years old.
The number of gang rapes is sharply rising, with most victims being minors.
These figures, horrifying as they are, represent only the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of rapes and gang rapes in Bangladesh go unreported due to social stigma, fear of retaliation, and distrust in the justice system. For minority women and girls, the silence is even deeper: allegations of religious bias in law enforcement and lower courts deter families from pursuing justice, leaving crimes unrecorded and unpunished. In several cases, headless bodies of women and girls have been discovered across the country, making identification impossible and pointing to the unspeakable brutality of the perpetrators.
Violence against women and girls has long been an alarming issue in Bangladesh, but under the present administration it has reached a scale that can only be described as a pandemic.
Despite the baselessness of this charge, and mounting public outrage, Chinmoy Prabhu remains imprisoned. His bail petition, now pending before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, has received no resolution for months. Since then, he has been entangled in multiple fabricated cases, including false allegations of murder. His only crime? Speaking truth to power and advocating for the rights of Bangladesh’s marginalized.
His case stands as a microcosm of broader state inaction and complicity — a legal mockery in a system that claims to uphold justice. Learn more, click here.
Legal Objectives of the PIL
HRCBM’s PIL argues that inaction by the government violates the Constitution and international obligations. Key contentions include:
- State Failure to Protect:
Authorities have failed to implement existing laws to prevent sexual violence and rape, violating Articles 27, 28, 31, and 32 of the Constitution. - Medical Negligence:
Hospitals often refuse to examine victims without a prior police case, leading to loss of evidence and obstruction of justice. This directly violates Section 32 of the Nari o Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain, 2000. - Need for Minority-Sensitive Safe Shelters:
The PIL demands that every district designate at least one One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) or Victim Support Centre (VSC) as a Minority-Sensitive Safe Shelter to provide immediate care and culturally sensitive protection for survivors. - Judicial Commission of Inquiry:
HRCBM calls for a Judicial or Para-Judicial Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956 to investigate cases since January 2024 involving abduction, rape, forced marriage, and coerced conversion. - Law Harmonization:
Any marriage involving a girl under 18 should trigger automatic child protection intervention under the Children Act, 2013, regardless of the “special circumstances” clause in the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2017. - Accountability and Transparency:
The government must publish annual consolidated data on crimes against minority women and girls, safeguard victim identity, and submit reports to Parliament.
Reliefs Sought in the PIL
The PIL seeks binding judicial orders requiring the Government of Bangladesh to:
Establish a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into sexual violence and coercion targeting minorities.
Enforce mandatory medical examinations of victims without requiring a police case.
Create a Victim Support and Rehabilitation Fund to provide emergency medical care, counseling, shelter, and legal aid.
Designate and operationalize Minority-Sensitive Safe Shelters in all districts within 12 months.
Form a court-appointed monitoring committee (including HRCBM and independent experts) to oversee compliance.
Ensure implementation within 60 days, with compliance reports submitted to the Court
Building on HRCBM’s Legacy
HRCBM has never stood idly by. Our PILs include (Please click to the writ below for further details):
2006: Challenging post-election atrocities led by BNP and Jamaat factions
2023: Filing against genocidal crimes committed during the regime change.
- 2025: PIL against False Case Prosecutions.
Each case has been a milestone — but this latest PIL, rooted in documented mass abuses and rising state complicity, may be the most pivotal yet.
Transitional Justice: Towards Systemic Reform
This Public Interest Litigation is more than a legal remedy — it is a foundational step in HRCBM’s long-term strategy to initiate Transitional Justice in Bangladesh.
For generations, religious minorities in Bangladesh have faced recurring waves of violence, displacement, and legal persecution. Today, false criminal cases represent a new frontier of this abuse — one that is both systemic and silent.
HRCBM envisions a multi-pronged transitional justice process that includes:
Justice and accountability for victims of fabricated prosecutions
Reparation and institutional safeguards to prevent further abuse
Truth-telling and inclusive national dialogue to rebuild trust and democratic resilience
We see this litigation not as an endpoint, but as a beginning — a legal, moral, and historical reckoning that is long overdue.
📎 To learn more about our Transitional Justice framework, please visit:
🔗 Transitional Justice for Bangladesh’s Minorities »
A Call to Action
Even as the courts deliberate, HRCBM continues its parallel work: informing international stakeholders, mobilizing public opinion, and preparing for a long legal battle. We invite lawyers, journalists, and civil society leaders to examine our findings, amplify our cause, and support us in seeking transitional justice — so that the cycle of persecution ends, and the rule of law is restored.
Let this be more than a case. Let it be a reckoning.
📩 Contact: info@hrcbm.org | 🔗 Support Our Legal Defense Fund