The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to appeal filed by five convicts against their death sentences in Bangabandhu Murder Case.

Granting the leave to appeal or pre-appeal hearing, a three-member bench of the Appellate Division comprising Justice Md Tafazzul Islam, Justice Md Joynul Abedin and Justice Md Hasan Ameen allowed the appeal after 26 days of hearing, which began on August 7.

The court in its order asked the convicts and their lawyers to file paper books for a regular appeal hearing by October 30.

"The order of stay of the operation of the verdict would be vacated in case of failure to submit paper books on time", said the court order.

The convicts, who moved the Appellate Division seeking for leave to appeal are--Lt Col Syed Farook Rahman, Lt Col Shahriar Rashid Khan and Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed (artillery), Major Bazlul Huda and Major AKM Mohiuddin (lancer). All of them are now in Jail. The trial court awarded them death penalty on November 8, 1998.

Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Golam Rasul in his judgement on November 8, 1998, awarded death sentence to the 15 accused, including those five in a delayed trial of August 15, 1975 murder of Bangabandhu, with most of his family members, began in 1997.

Three of the convicts, sacked Lt Col Syed Farook Rahman, Lt Col Shahriar Rashid Khan and Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed (artillery), faced the trial in person from the beginning.

Dismissed Major Bazlul Huda, who had been absconding, was detained after his extradition from Thailand, on the very day the trial court delivered the death penalty to the 15 accused. Sacked Major AKM Mohiuddin (lancer), who had taken refuge in the United States, was extradited to Bangladesh after a US federal court rejected his prayer to stay back.

One of 15 convicts dismissed Lt Col Abdul Aziz Pasha died of natural cause in Zimbabwe, while the remaining are still on the run abroad.

As a death reference came up before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court for confirmation of the capital punishment and appeal hearing, a bench comprising Justice M Ruhul Amin and Justice ABM Khairul Haque had delivered a split judgment in 2001 after the appeal hearing.

Justice Amin upheld the death sentence of nine of the accused and Justice Haque confirmed the death penalty of the 15.

The split judgment was referred to a third judge, Justice M Fazlul Karim, in a separate bench, which eventually upheld the death sentence to the 12 the same year.

But the Appellate Division could not hear the mater, as five of the seven judges of the Division had heard the case earlier as judges in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court

The appointment of new judges to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, earlier this year, solved this and paved the way for the constitution of a bench to hear it

During the hearing of the leave, sacked Major AKM Mohiuddin (Lancer) preferred a prayer seeking permission to submit his petition regreting the delay in filing.

The court allowed him to file the leave petition granting the prayer.

After hearing the five petitions, the court granted leave and asked the concerned lawyers to file paper books within the specified time. (October 30, 2007)

Senior Advocate Abdur Rezzak Khan, Advocate Nurul Islam Bhuiyan and Barrister Abdullah-Al-Mamoon pleaded for the convict while Senior Advocate Anisul Haq, who represented the government, opposed the move for the appeal during the pre-appeal hearing.

Meanwhile, Acting President of the Awami League (AL) Zillur Rahman expressed frustration over the Appellate Division judgment

"I am deeply frustrated at the judgment," he told journalists yesterday afternoon, adding, "We will continue the legal batles for the implementation of the death sentence."