Syed Shemul Parvez :
The inefficiencies in the justice delivery system, exacerbated by insufficient budget and manpower, are significantly hindering the dispensation of justice, courting considerable disaster for justice seekers, particularly those on death row.
It is well documented that the cases of death row convicts in condemned cells often languish unresolved for extended periods, extending across eras and leading to profound disappointment for the families of victims due to the protracted nature of justice.
According to a report submitted to the High Court by the Inspector General of Prisons, approximately 2,500 convicts are currently sentenced to death and housed in condemned cells across the country.
The nation’s prisons have a total of 2,657 cells designated for death row inmates.
Another report, as of November 1 of the previous year, reveals that there are 2,657 cells in total, comprising 2,512 cells for men and 145 for women. Among the 2,162 death row prisoners, 2,099 are men and 63 are women.
An examination of the data shows significant regional disparities in the distribution of death row cells. Dhaka Division, with 1,292 death row prisoners, has the highest number of cells, totaling 1,784.
Conversely, Mymensingh Division, with only five death row prisoners, has 54 cells.
Prison-specific statistics indicate that the High Security Central Jail holds the largest number of cells, with 951 prisoners occupying 1,000 available cells.
Supreme Court lawyer Dr. Shahdeen Malik, an eminent authority on the subject, said, “The rate of death sentence verdicts has alarmingly increased across the country over the past 15 years.
Notably, Bangladesh ranks fourth in the world for the rate of death sentences imposed.”
Dr. Malik attributes the delays in executing justice to budgetary constraints, highlighting that the allocation for the Law and Judiciary Department is disproportionately low compared to other sectors.
Astonishingly, only 1,800 judges are tasked with adjudicating for a population of approximately 18 crore, a stark contrast to the more substantial budgets and judicial resources available in other countries.
In the past decade, only Tk 20 billion has been allocated to the Law and Judiciary Department, a sum that is less than half the budget of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
Additionally, there are currently around 4.5 million cases pending trial across various courts in the country, with the number of such cases increasing annually.
Over the past 15 years, the number of death sentences issued in both higher and lower courts has doubled. Dr. Malik attributes the substantial backlog of cases primarily to the shortage of judges.
Retired Senior District Judge and former Director General (Legal) of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Moyeedul Islam, stated that the rate of total cases is increasing day by day as the population and crimes have increased tremendously across Bangladesh.
However, the number of judges and courts has not increased proportionately, leading to a huge backlog of cases due to a shortage of judicial resources.
According to the Law Minister, Anisul Huq, there are approximately 41,09,755 cases currently pending in the country’s courts.
Justice Moyeedul noted that many of these cases are fake, false, and unnecessary, and the backlog cannot be decreased until the police carefully verify the merit of the cases before filing them.
The most horrific seven post-abduction murders in Narayanganj saw their 10th anniversary pass recently, with the verdict in the case pronounced in 2017.
While the victims’ families were initially satisfied with the lower court’s judgement, the delay in the high court’s decision has left them frustrated.
They still expect the Appellate Division to uphold the lower court’s judgement, paving the way for its implementation.
The 2014 incident involved the kidnapping and subsequent murder of seven individuals, including a Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) councillor.
A lower court in Narayanganj in 2017 handed down death penalties to 26 accused, while nine others were sentenced to different jail terms.
In 2018, the High Court upheld capital punishment for 15 and commuted the capital punishment of the remaining 11 to life imprisonment.[1] However, the case has been awaiting disposal at the Appellate Division for the last five and a half years, drawing ire from the victims’ relatives.
Another youth named Masum has been passing time in a condemned cell for the last 16 years on charges of robbery and murder.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has decided to hear the appeal of a death sentence convict.
His lawyer, Khurshid Alam Khan, brought the matter to the attention of the court, as his appeal was on the docket but was not heard.
Then, on Tuesday (June 2), the Appellate Bench headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan adjourned Wednesday (July 3) for a hearing.
Lawyer Khurshid Alam said that in a case of robbery and murder, the accused, Qazi Abdullah Al Masum, was sentenced to death by the speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka in 2008.
After the appeal and death reference, the High Court also upheld the sentence in the trial court. Then the accused appealed against the judgement of the High Court in the Appellate Division in 2015. But the appeal is still pending.
Kazi Rashid, alias Rashidul, former vice president of the local Jubo League Banani Thana unit, was brutally killed in 2018 by another Banani Jubo League Joint Convener, Yusuf Sardar Sohel al-Sonduri Sohel, but the victim’s family didn’t get justice even after six years of murder.
Not only the Rashid murder, but Sonduri Sohel is also accused of seven more murder cases, but he can easily manage the law and punishment due to his relationship with powerful political leaders.
In this regard, the victim’s lawyer, Delowar Zahan Rumi, said that all accused killers are on bail from the high court. The case is at the witness stage. Now we are eagerly waiting to see the verdict of the court, lawyer Delowar added.
It is noted that the High Court (HC) has declared that keeping death-row convicts in condemned cells before the final verdict is illegal and unlawful, as they are passing dangerous time in the cells.