Your
Advocate
This
week your advocate is M. Moazzam Husain of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
His professional interests include civil law, criminal law and constitutional
law.
Q:
My father lived with my 2nd eldest brother in his own house in a small
district town. Since after his retirement, his age was 72 but hardly
he used to fell sick. But suddenly he fell sick & caught by pneumonia
& his illness turned into severe condition and he died. However,
my brother did not look after him. He neither took him to the doctor
nor called in a doctor for my brother as my brother had a strain relation
with my father. This originated from my brother's marriage as he wanted
more money. Moreover, he wanted the house including its adjacent land
property. However, my father did not agree. As a result, he became an
eyesore of my brother and his wife. My father lived with them in the
same house but he had no speaking terms with them and had separate arrangement
for food. We requested him to come & stay with anyone of us in Dhaka,
but he refused to do so on the plea that my brother will grab my house
anyhow. He said that he is not going to give any more money as have
gave him enough money for his business till his being established. Our
mother died just before one year of our father's death. Our mother kept
many valuable documents pertaining to the land property and some gold
ornaments worth of Taka 30 lakhs. It is mentionable that during my mother's
life time my brother was driven out from that house but being so cunning
on the plea of our mother's death he came to that house and also promised
to look after our old father. Our father died due to his illness as
I have mentioned above. One important thing to mention here, one of
our brothers died suddenly in that house few years ago while our father
came to Dhaka. As a normal phenomena of our country, when our parents
die, we cry, praise and repent for them. After that, the most vital
point came to be discussed about property distribution. When this started,
I left the home in same dress and went straight to my job station. It
is near 9 years I did not keep any connection with any of my relatives
or siblings. Later I came to know that all the documents and ornaments
could not be found in that house. Our brother who lived there was asked
about that but he said he does not know. However, his wife said that
one night when no one was at home, a group of masked robber intruded
and broke some locked almiras and suitcases, which belongs to our parents.
When she was asked that why she did not go for GD in the police station,
she told that against whom she would do that as she did not know them.
By knowing all this, we tried to lodge a GD about the robbery. However,
the police did not take it for GD and commented that why we were dragging
our brother and his wife in this matter.These circumstances are mysterious
and doubtful. I strongly believe that some how my brother and his wife
killed my father by suffocation as my father was ill and grabbed all
the documents and gold ornaments. Even my other brother's death is not
beyond doubtful. My questions are, (a) How can we recover the lost documents?
(b) Can we legally convict / blame our brother on doubt of murdering?
(c) Why the local police is not taking any GD regarding this matter
and what could be done? (d) Since a long time has passed is there any
time Barrier for lodging any case? (e) Can my brother claim any property
that is left by our parents after what he had done to them? As a son,
he did not carry out his duties towards his own parents. So, how he
can claim his parents property? Is it not inhumanity? Please advice
in legal aspect.
S.
K. Sikder, 10/4 Begum Rokeya Soroni, Dhaka.
Your
Advocate: Your case is unfortunate. All the mental sufferings
inflicted on you are not redressable in law. Far less, law deals only
with the defined categories of problems of human life. There is still
serious limitations of law in its applications. Applications again depend
on different agencies comprised of its members differing in skill, experience
and commitment. Upon these basic premises let me proceed to address
your problems.
As to your first
question, I am constrained to say from my experience that the lost documents
are no more likely to be recovered after so many years. Moreover police,
as you have indicated, was found reluctant to interfere with the matter.
Still you can file a petition case in the Court of Magistrate over the
suspected theft in respect of the documents explaining the delay and
police inaction. Upon your petition a case would be registered and as
of practice the petition would be sent to the local police station for
treating the same as an FIR. Thus police case would be started and investigations
will follow. So you can try your luck in this way. If your luck favours
documents may be recovered and the criminals may be brought to justice.
Nothing more auspicious can be said at this stage.
As to the second
question I adopt the same reply. The third question is about police
inaction. It is a giant question that finds expressions every day in
newspapers, seminars, meetings, public gatherings etc. I have really
nothing new to add. Writ petitions may be moved against police inactions
and if there is a fit case High Court Division may give appropriate
directions to the police authority. But your case is not as serious
as that because you did not properly pursue your case in the PS and
Magistrate court level and in fact chose to remain silent over the matter
for long years. To your fourth question the reply is- mere delay in
lodging the complaint/FIR is not any bar in initiating any criminal
proceedings. If there is prospect of detection of criminals, recovery
of stolen property and bringing the offenders to justice, that is, prospect
of success cases may be taken and proceeded with.
As for the right
of your suspected brother to inherit your father's property the reply
is- he will inherit in accordance with law. Because, mere suspicion
of the kind you have indicated does not absolve any one from inheriting
his parents' property.
Corresponding
Law Desk
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