The High Court (HC) has questioned the legality of the President's power to grant clemency to convicted persons without any guidelines.
It has issued a rule asking the respondents to explain as to why guidelines should not be framed for exercise of the President's power under Article 49 of the Constitution to grant "pardons, reprieves and respites, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence - passed by any court, tribunal or other authority".
The secretaries of the Cabinet Division, the ministries of law, home and parliament, and the president's office have been asked to comply with the rule within four weeks.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan filed the writ petition on January 20, challenging the legality of the President's 'mercy power'.
"The President's power to grant clemency to convicted persons has been abused time and again. In most cases, clemency was granted following political considerations, and most of the convicts were accused in murder cases," said Ishrat Hasan during a briefing after the court order.
"Over the years, the President's clemency power has been grossly misused. During the period of the past government, a large number of convicted persons were pardoned through this unfettered discretion, although most of them were murderers."
"This has led to public concerns over access to justice and eroded trust in the judicial system. To prevent further misuse, it is imperative to frame guidelines by the court for exercise of the unfettered power."
In the petition, Advocate Ishrat said Article 49 of the Constitution gives the President the power to grant clemency, which is currently unregulated and discretionary.
It raises concerns that the absence of guidelines on how and on what basis clemency is granted violates Articles 7, 27, 31, and 32 of the Constitution, she added.
The petitioner also highlighted examples where the power was allegedly misused, as clemency was granted to Joseph, brother of a former army chief, and Aslam Fakir, a former Jubo League leader.
Advocate Ishrat herself moved the petition, while Deputy Attorney General Mohsin Kabir represented the state during the hearing.
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