Gulam Rabbani :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday asked the Attorney General to talk to the Inspector General of Prisons so that no death row convict is executed before publishing the full verdict of it.
The apex court passed the direction after a lawyer of a death row convict, Shukur Ali, informed the Appellate Division that the process of execution of his client is underway before releasing the full verdict of the Supreme Court.
Then the five-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain asked the Attorney General to talk to the Inspector General of Prisons over the issue.
The apex court at the same time stayed the execution process of Shukur Ali till publishing the full verdict of the Appellate Division.
Lawyer Helal Uddin Mollah appeared in the court on behalf of Shukur Ali, while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the State.
Citing a lawyer last week, some media outlets reported that the death sentences of two accused had been carried out four years ago before the finality of their regular appeal petitions filed with the Appellate Division.
However, Law Minister Anisul Huq and Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said the news was not correct. There was no violation of law in execution of the two convicts.
During the hearing, lawyer Helal Uddin Mollah said, “The jail authorities are taking preparation to execute my client on the basis of the advanced order, though the full verdict of the case has not been released yet. We will file review petition against the verdict, but before that the full verdict has to be released. That is why we seek apex court’s interference so that the authorities don’t execute my client before the release of the full verdict.”
After hearing on some appeal petitions, the Appellate Division on August 18 in 2021 affirmed the death penalty of Shukur Ali and commuted death sentences of three others to life imprisonment in a case filed for abduction, rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl of Kushtia’s Daulatpur Upazila.
The Appellate Division of the SC also asked the jail authorities to shift the three convicts, Nuruddin Sentu, Azanur Rahman and Mamun Hossain, whose death sentences were commuted, in the regular cell from the condemn cell.
Convict Shukur Ali has right to seek review of the apex court verdict and presidential mercy to save his life. If his mercy appeals are rejected, the jail authorities can execute the death sentence, the court said.
Justice Hasan Foez Siddique then said, “Advance order was given for the convicts whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment to transfer them to the regular cell from the condemned cell. The full verdict has not signed yet.”
Then the Chief Justice said, “The sentence will not be executed before releasing the full verdict.” He also asked the Attorney General to communicate with the Inspector General of Prisons so that they don’t execute any convict before releasing the full verdict of it.
The Chief Justice at the same time asked the lawyer of Shukur Ali to submit review petition to the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division.
According to the case statement, a 13-year-old victim of Lalnagar village under Kushtia’s Daulatpur Upazila went to a neighbour’s house to watch television on the night of March 25, 2004.
The convicts abducted her while she was returning home. They took her in a tobacco field and raped and killed her there. The following day, her father filed a case with Daulatpur Police Station in connection with the incident.
