52 Children Get Bail in One Month Through Virtual Hearings at Tongi Child Development Centre

Virtual hearings were held for 71 children of the Child Development Centre (Boys) in Tongi, Gazipur, in October. At the end of the hearings, 52 children received bail. The matter was confirmed by the centre's superintendent, Md Emran Khan.

A case against a child may be in a distant district of the country. For the hearing, the child is supposed to be taken from the Tongi centre in Gazipur to the court of that district. A lack of sufficient vehicles and the necessary security personnel and manpower creates various complications in producing them in court. Sometimes it is not possible to produce them on time, and sometimes delay lengthens a child's waiting days. In this situation, the opportunity to take part in hearings through technology without appearing in court in person is making children's judicial proceedings somewhat easier.

The Tongi centre is responsible for children detained in cases of 58 child courts in 32 districts of the country. As a result, regularly producing children in courts in distant districts is a major challenge for the centre's authorities. Those concerned struggle to arrange transport, ensure security and coordinate the necessary manpower. Not only taking them to court, bringing them back to the centre after the hearing also takes a long time, and sending one child to court creates extra pressure on the centre's other administrative and service activities.

Among these, the most worrying issue is the number of children staying beyond the centre's capacity. According to related sources, the centre's approved capacity is 300. Yet at times 900 to 1,000 children have to stay there. Because of this extra pressure, running housing, education, treatment, counselling, security and rehabilitation activities is becoming difficult.

The centre's superintendent Md Emran Khan said the introduction of virtual hearings has reduced much of the complexity of producing children in court. However, taking children physically to distant courts is still time-consuming, and a lack of sufficient manpower and security personnel creates pressure on the centre's other activities when one child is sent to court.

Probation officers Abu Bakar Siddique Majumdar and Shakil Mahmud are involved in coordinating the virtual hearings. Their responsibilities include communicating with the relevant courts and coordinating the hearing proceedings.

On 9 July 2026, Social Welfare Minister Professor Dr AZM Zahid Hossain visited the child development centre. At that time he highlighted the importance of virtual hearings to make children's judicial proceedings easier. He also emphasised introducing a full virtual court facility with distant courts and arranging a magistrate at the centre, according to related sources.

Shakil Mahmud, a probation officer at the Tongi centre under the Social Welfare Ministry's project to increase the capacity of the three existing child development centres, said a large part of this problem could be solved if a full virtual hearing system is introduced with all child courts in the country. For this, uninterrupted internet, modern technological equipment, trained manpower and a coordinated communication system with the courts are needed, he said.

Under the Children Act, 2013, every person under the age of 18 is considered a child. The main aim of this law is not to see a child only as a person accused of an offence, but to ensure opportunities for their correction, protection and rehabilitation. Section 29 of the law gives child courts the power to grant bail; whether an offence is bailable or non-bailable, the court can grant bail in applicable cases considering the best interests of the child.

Section 31 of the law highlights the importance of the social inquiry report. This report is prepared considering the child's family condition, social environment, education, mental situation and possibilities of rehabilitation. Section 6 sets out the duties of probation officers; social inquiry of the child, providing necessary information to the court and cooperating in legal aid and rehabilitation activities are part of their work.