Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Tuesday said it is not possible to free society from crimes with only rigorous punishment like hanging and life-term imprisonment.
“Only punishing or hanging can’t protect society (from crimes). Death sentence or life-term imprisonment is being given to husbands for killing wives in around 80 percent of cases in our country. Has the crime of killing wives reduced?” he said.
The Chief Justice made the remarks during the hearing on an appeal by a man, Md Jashim, against the death sentence given to him for killing his four-year-old son in 2007.
He said the reports on wife killing are published in the newspapers every day. “So, it’s a misconception that we’ll get rid of crimes by punishing offenders.”
The Chief Justice said the law-and-order situation in Bangladesh is not worse in any way compared to that in India. “But 121 death sentences were handed down in India in 2019 while 327 in our country.”
He, however, said courts will give death sentences in the cases where they are supposed to pass such orders.
Later, the six-member virtual bench of the Appellate Division, led by the Chief Justice, commuted the death sentence given to the convicted father to a 10-year imprisonment
The bench also asked the jail authorities to immediately release Jashim from jail if he is not found accused in any other case.
Advocate Mohammad Helal Uddin Mollah stood for convict Jashim while Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Debnath represented the state.
Jashim’s counsel Advocate Mohammad Helal said “Jashim didn’t kill his son intentionally as he had no control over his rage. It’s not a planned murder.”
According to the prosecution, Jashim had an altercation with his mother-in-law in Barishal’s Mehendiganj upazila on March 31, 2007.
At one stage, Jashim’s mother-in-law hit him with a broom and pushed his son Shamim down, leaving the boy injured.
After the incident, Jashim killed his four-year-old- son Shamim.
His wife, Fatema Begum, then filed a case with Mehendiganj Police Station in this connection.
On July 28, 2008, a court found Jashim guilty of killing of his own son and sentenced him to death.
On November 14, 2013, the High Court upheld the lower court verdict.
Source: United News of Bangladesh