Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Thursday adjourned the hearing of appeals and death reference of 152 convicts in Pilkhana murder case till April 2.
The HC Bench of Justice Md Shawkat Hossain, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder passed the order granting a time prayer filed by the State.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the reporters that some legal questions have been raised from the defense side at the time of hearing of this case. That is why he begged time for preparation of hearing. The court fixed April 2 for the next hearing.
The trial would be finished in the HC within this year, hoped Mahbubey Alam.
Hearing of appeals and death reference of Pilkhana murder case started at January in 2015. Thursday was the 359th day of hearing in the HC.
Deputy Attorney General K M Zahid Sarwar Kazal told the reporters that argument is continuing now in this case.
A Dhaka court on November 5, 2013 awarded death penalty to 150 soldiers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and two civilians, and sentenced 161 others to life imprisonment for their roles and involvement in the carnage.
It also handed down rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to 256 people, mostly BDR soldiers. The court acquitted the remaining 277 accused. A total of 846 people, 823 of them BDR personnel, were on trial.
Seventy four people, including 57 army officials, were slain in the BDR mutiny on February 25-26 in 2009 at the Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka. The Paramilitary force was later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
According to Section 31 of Criminal Code of Procedure, judges of trial courts can sentence to the criminals any kind of punishment as per crime. But if a lower court judge sentences any person to death in a case, its judgment is examined by the HC through hearing arguments for confirmation of the death sentence. The case documents and judgment reaches as death reference to the HC from the lower court in seven days after the latter delivers the verdict. Besides, the convicts also appeal in the HC against their convictions.
The State also appealed in the HC against the judgment of acquittal of 69 accused in this case.
The the Supreme Court has taken special measures for hearing in this particular case. In 2015, the then Chief Justice of the SC formed special bench to hear the case.
