Tribunal judge lacked judicial sensitivity: High Court publishes full verdict

Seven years ago, Mamunur Rashid, then judge of the Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, sentenced all 16 accused to death in the case concerning the murder of madrasah student Nusrat Jahan Rafi in Sonagazi, Feni, after assailants poured kerosene over her and set her on fire.

In its full verdict, the High Court said that such an imprudent and irresponsible sentence could not be expected in any civilised society and that the judge lacked judicial sensitivity. The Supreme Court published the 112-page full verdict on its website on Tuesday.

The Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered its verdict in the widely discussed case on 24 October 2019.

The High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered its verdict on 24 August after hearing the death references, appeals and jail appeals filed by the accused.

The High Court upheld the death sentences of SM Siraj-ud-Doula, then principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasah, and student Shahadat Hossain Shamim.

Of the 16 accused sentenced to death by the tribunal, the High Court commuted the sentences of four to life imprisonment and acquitted the remaining 10.

In its full verdict, the High Court said, “Before concluding the judgment, we wish to make a cautionary observation here. We did not find even the minimum evidence against death-row convicts Mohammad Shamim, Ruhul Amin, Maksud Alam, the councillor, and Absar Uddin. Yet they were sentenced to death. Because of such imprudent sentencing, they have suffered for more than seven years in solitary condemned cells. Of the 16 convicts sentenced to death, we have so far found sufficient grounds to uphold the death sentence in only two cases in this case. The judgment (the tribunal verdict) delivered on the basis of such erroneous assessment has plunged the families of these unfortunate individuals into devastation. Such an imprudent and irresponsible sentence cannot be expected in any civilised society.”

The High Court also observed in its full verdict that the tribunal judge lacked judicial sensitivity. It said the judge should remain outside the criminal jurisdiction until he acquired a basic understanding of the Penal Code and the rules governing the imposition of sentences.

The court therefore directed the Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law to withdraw the judge from sessions jurisdiction until he addressed these shortcomings. The High Court’s order to withdraw Mamunur Rashid’s criminal judicial powers has also been reported following the 24 August verdict.

The four accused whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment are Nur Uddin, Javed Hossain alias Sakhawat Hossain, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Jobayer and Umme Sultana.

The High Court acquitted 10 accused of the death sentences after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

They are former Sonagazi Upazila Awami League president Ruhul Amin, former Sonagazi pourashava councillor Maksudul Alam, Hafez Abdul Kader, Absar Uddin, Kamrun Nahar Moni, Abdur Rahim Sharif, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, Imran Hossain alias Mamun, Mohammad Shamim and Mohiuddin Shakil.

According to the case records, on 27 March 2019, Siraj-ud-Doula, then principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasah, called Nusrat to his office and sexually harassed her. Police arrested him after her family filed a case.

On 6 April, after Nusrat refused to withdraw the case, assailants called her to the madrasah rooftop, tied her hands and feet, poured kerosene over her and set her on fire. She died on 10 April while receiving treatment at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Contemporary reports confirm that Nusrat had filed a sexual harassment case against Siraj-ud-Doula before the attack and that she was set on fire after refusing to withdraw it.

Nusrat’s elder brother, Mahmudul Hasan Noman, filed a case with Sonagazi police station over the arson attack. The case was subsequently converted into a murder case.