Keeping convicts in condemned cells before final verdict is illegal: HC

The High Court (HC) has declared that keeping convicts in condemned cells before the final verdict is illegal and unlawful.

A High Court division bench comprising Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif and Justice Md. Bazlur Rahman passed the order after hearing on Monday (May 13).

Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir moved for the petitioner while attorney general AM Amin Uddin and deputy attorney general Amit Talukdar stood for the state during the hearing.

Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir said there is no legal provision for immediate execution of sentence after the announcement of the death sentence in judicial court. For this, according to Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the approval of the High Court Division is required.

According to Article 105 of the Constitution, there is scope for a review application against the appellate judgment. Sometimes, it takes 10-12 years to complete these procedures. But the convict is kept in condemned cell just after the announcement of death penalty in the country.

Earlier on September 2, 2021, the writ petition was filed challenging the legitimacy of keeping convicts in the condemn cell before confirming their death sentences.