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A lawyer has filed a writ, challenging the president's authority to grant pardons to convicted individuals without a policy framework in place.
Supreme Court Lawyer Ishrat Hasan filed the public interest writ on Monday.
“Year after year, the president’s power to pardon has been grossly misused. During the previous government’s tenure, the president abused his power and pardoned convicted murderers.”
“As a result, the public is apprehensive about obtaining justice and disappointed with the legal system. It is necessary to formulate a policy to prevent the misuse of this power,” said Ishrat.
The writ names several high-ranking officials as respondents, including the cabinet secretary, law secretary, home secretary, parliament secretary, and the secretary of the president’s office, bdnews24.com reports.
The petition calls for a ruling to determine why the president’s authority to pardon convicted individuals without a guiding policy should not be deemed unconstitutional. It further urges the formulation of a comprehensive framework to govern the exercise of this discretionary power.
The petition states, “Article 49 of the Constitution grants the president the power to pardon. However, this power is exercised without a policy, leaving no criteria for who is pardoned and on what grounds. This lack of regulation conflicts with Articles 7, 27, 31, and 32 of the Constitution.”
The petition also alleges that numerous convicts have been pardoned improperly, resulting from the misuse of this authority.
The writ highlights controversial cases of individuals pardoned under the president’s authority, including Tofail Ahmed Joseph, the brother of former army chief Gen Aziz Ahmed and a convicted criminal, and Aslam Fakir.
Joseph, convicted in the murder of Freedom Party leader Mustafa, was sentenced to death by a Dhaka court in 2004. While the High Court upheld the sentence, the Appellate Division commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in 2015. Despite this, he was released from prison in May 2018 under the president’s pardon.
The petition further cites the case of Aslam, convicted of the brutal murder of union chairman Shahed Ali. On Sept 25, 2003, the Faridpur District and Sessions Judge's Court sentenced Aslam to death for hacking Shahed to death along with his associates, a verdict later upheld by the High Court.
Aslam later pleaded guilty on May 19, 2013, and sought clemency from the president. While his initial application was rejected on Oct 13, 2014, Kashimpur Prison authorities prepared to carry out his execution on Nov 13, 2024. However, the execution was stayed the day before it was carried out after Aslam exhibited “unusual behaviour,” prompting a second clemency plea to be submitted to the president.
Aslam later received a presidential pardon, and his sentence was reduced to 14 years in prison on Feb 26, 2015.