Legal notice asks for list of people pardoned since January 1991

A legal notice has been sent asking for a list of people whose sentences have been commuted, suspended, or reduced by the head of state using their constitutional powers since January 1991.

The notice was sent to the home affairs secretary, law secretary, cabinet secretary and the secretary to the president’s office by Supreme Court Advocate Omar Faruk.

He told bdnews24.com that he sent the notice to see whether there had been any political motive in the pardoning of people by the president under Article 49 of the constitution over the past 33.5 years.

Article 49 states: “The President shall have power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority.”

The notice asks for a list of names of those who had been pardoned or released from prison by the president from January 1991 to July 2024 and why they had been pardoned to be issued within 15 days.

If the list is not issued within the time limit, the matter will be taken to a higher court, Faruk said.The notice said, "It is a matter of deep regret that for many years the president has been using his powers to pardon or commute the sentences of many criminals convicted of murder. Many death row convicts and life sentence convicts have been released from jail due to presidential pardon and are spreading fear in the society once again as mafia dons.”

 “As a citizen I/we have a right to know how, by what process, on whose recommendation or advocacy the president pardons or pardoned these odious and notorious convicts. Article 49 of the Constitution regarding pardons by the president also needs to be looked into to see whether there is abuse of power or use of any political force for any political purposes.”