Delay in investigating the murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi 12 years ago is “ridiculing” Bangladesh’s criminal justice system, the High Court has observed.
The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Araif and Justice Md Bazlur Rahman made the observation in a verdict concluding that death row convicts cannot be kept in condemned cells before the judgment is confirmed.
The 65-page full version of the verdict delivered on May 13 was published on the Supreme Court website on Tuesday.
On Feb 12, 2012, Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar and ATN Bangla Senior Reporter Runi were stabbed to death in the bedroom of their flat in Dhaka’s Razabazar.
The investigators took more time to submit their report in the case for the 111th time on Jun 30.
“Murder trials in our country sometimes take more than 20 years. If such murder case is attributed any political colour, it may even take more than that,” the High Court said.
It cited the example of the FIR in the Bangabandhu murder case, which could not be lodged for more than 21 years.
“Investigation in Sagar-Runi murder case (brutal killing of two renowned young journalists) has not yet been completed even after 12 years of the occurrence and as such it could not see the light of trial as yet.
“Unfortunately, this case has been continuously ridiculing our criminal justice system and damaging it to an unrepairable stage which was remedied to some extent by the Bangabandhu murder case and the cases before the International Crime Tribunals,” the court observed.
In the main verdict, the court ordered that any convict kept in a condemned cell or solitary cell without the death reference being finalised must be gradually transferred to an ordinary cell. This work must be completed within two years, the High Court said.
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