Bangabandhu Murder Case Appeal Hearing Lingers On and On

After the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others no-one was allowed to file a case. The government of Khandker Mustaque Ahmed passed an ordinance in November 1975 indemnifying the perpetrators and closing the door on the possibility of a trial. The Awami League government revoked the indemnity ordinance in 1996 and cleared the way for that trial. After 21 years of the killing, the then president Sheikh Mujib's personal assistant Muhitul Islam on October 2, 1996 filed a case with Dhanmondi Police Station against 20 persons.

On November 8, 1998 Dhaka sessions judge Golam Rasul awarded death sentence to 15 of the 20 accused persons. Four jailed accused major (retd) Bazlul Huda, lt col (sacked) Syed Faruk Rahman, lt col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and lt col (red) Mohiuddin Ahmed appealed in the High Court against the trial court verdict.

On December 14, 2000 the High Court gave a split verdict in the case: Justice Md Ruhul Amin upheld death sentence of 10 accused but Justice ABM Khairul Haque upheld death sentence of 15 accused.

On April 30, 2001 Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim of the High Court's third bench upheld death sentence of 12 accused persons and acquitted three.

Of the 12 death convicts, four jailed accused submitted leave to appeal in the Appellate Division. Another death convict, lancer AKM Mohiuddin, made an appeal from jail after he was deported from the United States. A special bench of the Appellate Division, comprising Justice Tafazzal Islam, Justice Md Joynul Abedin and Justice Md Hassan Ameen, on September 23, 2007 granted leave to appeal.

The court also asked them to file regular appeals for hearing by October 30, 2007.
But the Appellate Division could not take up the appeals for hearing as most of its judges when they were in High Court Division felt embarrassed during earlier hearings in the case. As a result, there was not enough number of judges in the Appellate Division to form a full bench for such appeal hearings.

Six judges of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division felt embarrassed to hear the case. At one point there were only five judges in the Appellate Division and at least three judges were required for hearing the appeal. But the present chief justice, MM Ruhul Amin, and Justice MA Matin had felt embarrassed to hear the case during their stint as High Court judges. The other judge, Mohammad Fazlul Karim, had given the verdict in the case as the third High Court judge. It means these three judges had to be counted out from the appeals hearing. Only Justice Tafazzal Islam and Justice Zainal Abedin could hear the appeal. Shah Abu Naim Mominur Rahman and Mohammad Abdul Aziz were later appointed to the Appellate Division.


Important legal questions are involved with this case. So a bigger bench with a greater number of judges should hear the appeal. Therefore President Zillur Rahman has appointed four new judges under article 94 (2) of the constitution to the Appellate Division.

The new judges are justice BK Das, ABM Khairul Haque, Mohammed Muzammel Hossain and Surendra Kumar Sinha. Their appointment will come into force from the day they are sworn in to office.

Seven other judges are of the Appellate division are chief justice MM Ruhul Amin, Mohammad Fazlul Karim, Mohammad Tafazzal Islam, Mohammad Jainul Abedin, Mohammad Abdul Matin, Shah Abu Naim Mominur Rahman and Mohammad Abdul Aziz.

Of those having received death sentence, Rashid, lt col Shariful Haq Dalim, lt col Noor, Risalder Moslemuddin, lt col Rashed Chowdhury and col Majed are absconding. Absconding accused Aziz Pasha died in Zimbabwe.

Resource: Online