Beyond the Burden of Chastity: Character Evidence and the Changing Judicial Mindset in Bangladesh

Abstract

In 2022, the colonial-era Evidence Act, 1872, was finally amended by the Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2022. It repealed section 155(4), the provision that allowed legal practitioners to attack sexually assaulted women’s “general immoral character” to undermine their testimony. Although the repealed provision was widely appreciated as a vital step toward more just and gender-sensitive criminal justice, this paper argues that the amended version only abolished the colonial rule formally, preserving much of its functional spirit. Even though revised Section 146(3) bars inquiries into a victim’s past behavior during cross-examination, courts may still permit them if deemed vital to fairness “for the ends of justice”. What remains vague is how often such situations truly justify the breach of the victim’s privacy. The lack of clear guidance, combined with broad judicial discretion, means the practice effectively remains tethered to the same colonial logic of invasive scrutiny. Yet legal wording only captures part of reality, as inside courtrooms, practices persist through subtle means such as in the Raintree Hotel verdict. Analysing the statutory provisions along with ten reported Appellate Division cases, this paper embeds the 2022 amendment within a broader critique of legislative repeal without structural and cultural transformation, which risks relocating, rather than dismantling, colonial mechanisms of control over survivors’ credibility. The paper concludes by calling for binding judicial guidelines and stronger sexual violence shield protections to end the discretionary loophole.