Facts
In the case of 66 DLR AD 199, Milon Akter was married to Md. Nazrul Islam six years ago. After six months of marriage, Nazrul went to Saudi Arabia for work and stayed there for two years. They had a son who was four years old at the time of the incident. Nazrul used to beat Milon Akter, accusing her of leading an immoral life. On 12.04.2002 at 00-15 AM, Nazrul started pounding her in their house. He bolted the door from inside, tied up her hands and legs, and inflicted severe injuries on her with a boti-dao, killing her by cutting her throat.
The incident was witnessed by several people, including her brother-in-law and mother-in-law, through a glass window. The police were informed and arrested Nazrul from the room. He confessed to killing his wife, and the bloodstained boti-dao was recovered from the scene.
Issues
- Who killed the victim, Milon Akhter?
- Considering the extenuating factors, can the petitioner’s death sentence be commuted to imprisonment for life?
Decisions
- The delay in execution of the death sentence for want of confirmation cannot by itself constitute mitigating circumstances. Still, an abnormal and excessive delay of 6 years may be considered for commutation of death to life imprisonment. [Quoted from Nawsher Ali vs. State, reported in 39 DLR 57]
- The length of the period spent by a convict in the condemned cell is not necessarily a ground for commutation of the sentence of death. However, where the period spent in the condemned cell is not due to any fault of the convict and where the period spent there is inordinately long, it may be considered an extenuating ground sufficient for the commutation of the sentence of death.
Judgment
- The petitioner was accused of killing his wife inside their bedroom. The petitioner’s counsel argued that there was no direct evidence proving his involvement in the crime. However, the court found substantial evidence, including the testimonies of the petitioner’s family members and independent witnesses, as well as the presence of a blood-stained weapon at the scene. Based on this evidence, the court upheld the conviction under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
- The petitioner, who was sentenced to death, sought commutement of the sentence to life imprisonment based on several extenuating factors. The court considered the petitioner having a young child, his age, mental health condition, and the time spent in the condemned cell as mitigating factors. The court referred to previous cases where similar factors were considered for the commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment. Ultimately, the court decided to commute the petitioner’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
