DELAY in the disposal of appeals in cases that have been pending with the Supreme Court, both the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, has prolonged judicial proceedings and held back, or even denied, justice that all 鈥� the offenders, the wronged and their family and others 鈥� cry for. More than a thousand death references, as the officials concerned say, have been pending with the High Court. Death references pending with the High Court relate, among others, to the October 7, 2019 murder of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology student Abrar Fahad, the April 6, 2019 murder of Feni madrassah student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, the July 31, 2020 murder of retired major Sinha Md Rashed Khan, the February 26, 2015 murder of writer-blogger Avijhit Roy and the October 31, 2015 murder of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan. The much-talked-about cases pending with the Appellate Division include the February 2009 mass killing in the headquarters of the formerly Bangladesh Rifles now renamed as the Border Guard Bangladesh, the April 2014 seven murders of Narayanganj, the December 9, 2012 murder of tailor Biswajit Das and the February 15, 2013 murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.
In all, 5,28,583 cases had been pending with the High Court and 24,610 had been pending with the Appellate Division as of September 30, 2023, as Supreme Court statistics show. A High Court officer says that the judicial process for the death references and the appeals that the convicts filed in the past five years have been stalled because of the backlog of pending death references. The officer says that the appeals court requires to follow some procedures before it hears the cases, which has caused the delay, noting that designated judges are busy hearing the appeals and the death references given in 2017 and 2018. The death references handed down in 2019 are ready for hearing with the publication of a paperbook of the case dockets. Legal experts, in such a situation, call for new strategies 鈥� enhanced oversight on part of the chief justice to expedite the process and an increase in the number of Supreme Court judges to resolve the backlog. Former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque, who is now the chair of the Law Commission, emphasised the disposal of old cases and the digitisation of the judiciary when he served as the chief justice. Lawyers also suggest an enhanced oversight on part of the prosecution and the defence to expedite the process. But almost everyone suggests an increase in the number of judges to resolve the backlog as a measure to deal with such a huge number of pending cases.
The attorney general, however, says that he would speak to the chief justice, noting that it is the responsibility of defence lawyers to mention appeals for an early hearing although lawyers think that it is the responsibility of the government. But an early disposal of the cases is a must.
