The trial process, death references and appeals of many sensational cases, including murder cases and corruption cases, have been pending before different courts, including the High Court Division and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, for days due to legal tangles.
The apex court, virtual benches of the High Court and other virtual courts and tribunals in the country are only disposing of hearing in bail prayers of prisoners during the ongoing countrywide lockdown that began on April 5 following the rise in Covid-19 cases.
The courts are not disposing of the sensational cases even on an urgent basis, as the virtual courts are not empowered to dispose of criminal cases.
The death references in the August 21 grenade attack case, Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi murder case, Ramna Batmul bombing case, ten-truck arms case and many other death references are now pending before the High Court.
Some other sensational cases, also pending are Rana Plaza collapse case, BUET student Abrar Fahad murder case, the case on killing of Taslima Begum Renu in mob lynching, appeals in the murder case of Gaibandha MP, retired army officer Sinha murder case, Holey Artisan Bakery attack case, and the appeal of cases of the students Meem-Rajib killing in road accident in the capital.
The review hearing of Jamaat leader ATM Azhar’s death penalty in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War and the final verdict of Syed Muhammad Qaiser are also pending before the higher court. Some corruption cases are also pending. The cases include forgery cases against JKG Health Care chairperson Sabrina Sharmin Hussain and her husband and Regent Group’s chairman Md Shahed.
The Appellate Division is also not holding hearings on the appeals filed by death-row convicts and other convicts in the current pandemic situation. The appeals of Noor Hossain and 14 RAB members in the sensational seven-murder case of Narayanganj, the appeals of accused in the murder of Biswajit Das of Old Dhaka, and the appeals against High Court’s verdict on the Pilkhana carnage are among the sensational cases which are now pending before the Appellate Division.
On the other hand, the trial processes of many notorious murder cases and corruption cases have also been stopped in Dhaka courts and some other courts and tribunals in the country. In such a situation, the people concerned are worried about when the court proceedings will start normally and when they will get justice.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said that the courts have been running virtually on a limited scale to hear urgent cases amid the risk of lives of judges, lawyers and other people concerned during the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Some lawyers and members of victims’ families said that if the sensational cases are not settled quickly in alternative ways, the situation would worsen and the sufferings of litigants would increase.
Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazol, secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said that more virtual benches of the High Court should be functioned for disposal of pending cases quickly. He, however, said measurers should be taken to dispose of the important cases. Former SCBA secretary Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi echoed the same.
However, family members of victims of the sensational murder cases are waiting to see exemplary punishment of the accused after completing their trial. Selina Islam Beauty, widow of Nazrul Islam, one of the seven-murder victims, called upon the Attorney General to take steps to dispose of the appeals of the convicts immediately.
The Attorney General said that if the situation is normal, the important and sensational cases could be heard on a priority basis. He, however, said that they would take initiative after a return to normalcy so that the courts could dispose of sensational cases on a priority basis.
