HC likely to start hearing arguments on November 1

The High Court is likely to start hearing arguments on the BDR carnage case on November 1 since the court has finished hearing the death reference and documents related to the appeals of most convicts.

A total of 255 appeals were filed, both individually and collectively, by the 567 people who were either sentenced to death or jailed in the country's biggest ever criminal case, in terms of the number of accused persons and convicts.

A three-member special bench of the HC on September 10 adjourned the proceedings till November 1 as one of its judges, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, went on leave for performing Hajj and the court has also been on a 44-day annual vacation since September 17.

The bench will resume proceedings when the court reopens on November 1, Deputy Attorney General AKM Zahid Sarwar Kazal told The Daily Star.

Following filing of the appeals, the state counsels started presenting the first information reports (FIRs), charge sheets, confessional statements, evidences, testimonies of witnesses, and lower court's observations about the 152 death-row convicts of the case before the HC.

Almost all such documents have already been presented, said the counsels.

Seventy-four people, including 57 army officials, were slain in the BDR mutiny on February 25-26, 2009 at the force's Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka.

In November 2013, a Dhaka court sentenced 150 soldiers of erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now Border Guard Bangladesh, and two civilians to death, and jailed 161 for life for their involvement in the carnage.

It also gave rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to 256, mostly BDR soldiers. The remaining 277 were acquitted.

A total of 844 people, 823 of them BDR personnel, stood the trial.

DAG Kazal said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam would start placing arguments on November 1 on behalf of the state and then the defence would start arguing.    

After hearing the arguments, the court will fix a date for delivering the verdict, he said.

He, however, could not say how long it may take for finishing the arguments.

Meanwhile, Aminul Islam, a lawyer for some 200 convicts, said the hearing of the arguments might be finished in February or March next year since the defence would argue individually on every accused.   

The court also said it would hear individual arguments, he said, adding that the HC would be on a two-week vacation in December this year. 

The three-member bench including Justice Md Shawkat Hossain and Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder started hearing the death reference and 255 appeals on January 18.