Gulam Rabbani :
The jail authorities now have to build an old home inside the jails across the country since the apex court had ruled in a judgement that some convicts may be required to stay in jails rest of their lives if the courts mention in their orders.
But there is no ‘old home’ inside any jail of the country, said a high official of the prisons headquarter on condition of anonymity.
In a recent judgement, the apex court said, ‘Imprisonment for life prima facie means the whole of the remaining period of the convict’s natural life will remain behind bars.”
“Imprisonment for life is equivalent to imprisonment for 30 years if Sections 45 and 53 are read together along with Sections 55 and 57 of the Penal Code and 35(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” read the judgement.
“However, in case of sentence awarded to the convict
imprisonment for life till his natural death by the court / tribunal, International Crimes Tribuanl under International Crimes Tribunals Act, 1973, the convict will not be entitled to get the benefit of Section 35(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” also read the judgement.
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain gave the explanation on the basis of majority view while delivering the judgement after disposing of a review petition filed by a convict person.
Convict Ataur Mridha filed the petition seeking review of the apex court’s judgement that commuted his death penalty to imprisonment till death.
In a reaction Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain said, “The sentence awarded to the convict for imprisonment till his natural death is inhuman. If the courts sentence the accused imprisonment till death, then the jail authorities have to make old home inside the jails.”
“When a person becomes older, he will not have the strength to move. Then he will need a serviceman to take care of him. The court will have to consider these things,” added the lawyer.
The veteran lawyer also observed, “When a person becomes old and unable to move in the jail, the government could release him under the existing provisions of law. But after this judgement if anyone is sentence to imprisonment till death, there will be no scope of government to release that accuse on parole.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said, “An offender must be punished for his crime. He will have to suffer the punishment that the court will give him for that. If any of them becomes ill or unable to move, prison authorities will take action as per their law.
The jail authorities now have to build an old home inside the jails across the country since the apex court had ruled in a judgement that some convicts may be required to stay in jails rest of their lives if the courts mention in their orders.
But there is no ‘old home’ inside any jail of the country, said a high official of the prisons headquarter on condition of anonymity.
In a recent judgement, the apex court said, ‘Imprisonment for life prima facie means the whole of the remaining period of the convict’s natural life will remain behind bars.”
“Imprisonment for life is equivalent to imprisonment for 30 years if Sections 45 and 53 are read together along with Sections 55 and 57 of the Penal Code and 35(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” read the judgement.
“However, in case of sentence awarded to the convict
imprisonment for life till his natural death by the court / tribunal, International Crimes Tribuanl under International Crimes Tribunals Act, 1973, the convict will not be entitled to get the benefit of Section 35(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” also read the judgement.
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain gave the explanation on the basis of majority view while delivering the judgement after disposing of a review petition filed by a convict person.
Convict Ataur Mridha filed the petition seeking review of the apex court’s judgement that commuted his death penalty to imprisonment till death.
In a reaction Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain said, “The sentence awarded to the convict for imprisonment till his natural death is inhuman. If the courts sentence the accused imprisonment till death, then the jail authorities have to make old home inside the jails.”
“When a person becomes older, he will not have the strength to move. Then he will need a serviceman to take care of him. The court will have to consider these things,” added the lawyer.
The veteran lawyer also observed, “When a person becomes old and unable to move in the jail, the government could release him under the existing provisions of law. But after this judgement if anyone is sentence to imprisonment till death, there will be no scope of government to release that accuse on parole.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said, “An offender must be punished for his crime. He will have to suffer the punishment that the court will give him for that. If any of them becomes ill or unable to move, prison authorities will take action as per their law.
