Detaining prisoners in condemned cells before finalization of death penalty deemed illegal : HC

Before the finalization of the death penalty, the High Court has declared the detention of prisoners in condemned cells as illegal and unconstitutional. The court also declared Section 980 of the Jail Code unconstitutional.

This declaration came from a bench of Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif and Justice M. Bozlur Rahman on Monday (May 13).

Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the petitioner in court, while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukdar represented the state. Assistant Attorney General Nasim Islam Raju was also present.

Legal experts have hailed this as a historic decision.

Earlier, on December 12, 2023, the rule for detaining prisoners in condemned cells before finalizing the death penalty and the declaration of Section 980 of the Jail Code as unconstitutional were challenged. The hearing for this rule was concluded.

Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif and Justice M. Bozlur Rahman‍‍`s bench adjourned the case for announcing the verdict.

In a similar vein, to understand why detaining prisoners in condemned cells and declaring Section 980 of the Jail Code unconstitutional wouldn‍‍`t be illegal, the High Court issued a directive to submit a report within six months on prisoners kept in condemned cells. This directive was given by Justice M. Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Ahmed Sohel‍‍`s bench.

Before the conclusion of the case on September 3, 2022, challenging the legality of detaining a death row convict in condemned cells, a writ was filed in the High Court.

Advocate Shishir Monir filed this writ on behalf of three prisoners, including Zillur Rahman from Chattogram Central Jail.

The applicants were Zillur Rahman from Chattogram Central Jail, Abdur Bashir from Sylhet Central Jail, and Shah Alam from Khagrachhari Central Jail. These three convicts sentenced to death have their appeal pending in the High Court Division.