The High Court has ordered the removal of the lower court judge who previously sentenced sixteen individuals to death in the widely discussed murder trial of madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi. Delivered on Monday, the ruling addresses procedural flaws in how the original verdict was handled. A bench comprising Justice Biswajit Debnath and Justice K.M. Rasheduzzaman Raja ruled on the death reference and appeals tied to the high-profile case.
In its judgment, the High Court commuted and adjusted the sentences of the accused. Two individuals had their death sentences upheld, ten were acquitted entirely, and four had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
Addressing the conduct of the initial trial, the court strongly criticised the manner in which capital punishment was handed down without adhering strictly to legal protocols. The bench noted that such arbitrary mass death sentences exert a devastating psychological and social toll on the families involved. Consequently, the High Court directed that the presiding judge be stripped of judicial powers and attached immediately to the Ministry of Law.
The case dates back to October 2019, when the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Feni originally handed down its verdict. At the time, the tribunal ordered the death penalty and a fine of one hundred thousand taka for each of the sixteen accused, including the principal of the madrasa, Siraj Ud Doula.
The sequence of events began on 27 March 2019, when Nusrat’s mother, Shirin Akter, filed a case accusing Siraj Ud Doula of sexual harassment, leading to his subsequent arrest. Evidence later revealed that pressure to withdraw this legal action sparked a conspiracy to eliminate the student.
On 6 April 2019, Nusrat went to her madrasa to sit for her Alim examinations. She was lured to the rooftop, where assailants poured kerosene over her body and set her alight. She suffered catastrophic burns and was initially rushed to Sonagazi Upazila Health Complex, followed by the Feni 250-Bed General Hospital. She was ultimately transferred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on 10 April.
Following her death, Nusrat’s brother, Mahmudul Hasan Noman, filed a murder case on 8 April. Investigators submitted a charge sheet on 28 May, and formal charges were framed against the suspects on 20 June. The trial proceeded swiftly through sixty-one working days, during which the court recorded the testimonies of eighty-seven witnesses before delivering the initial verdict on 24 October 2019. Monday’s High Court ruling brings a significant legal turn to one of the most harrowing criminal cases in recent history.
What are your thoughts on the High Court’s decision to re-evaluate the sentences and address the lower court’s judicial process?
