HC verdict on death references Nov 26

The High Court (HC) is set to deliver on November 26 its verdict on death references of a record 152 people convicted of murders during the 2009 BDR mutiny and their appeals against the capital punishment, reports bdnews24.com.

The court will also issue the verdict on the state's appeal for increasing prison terms of those sentenced to different periods in jail and against the release of 194.

The larger bench of three headed by Justice Md Shawkat Hossain heard the death references and appeals for more than a year and put the case up for verdict on April 13.

Death sentences issued by the trial court are forwarded as death references for the HC's approval.

The Supreme Court announced the final date of the verdict on its website on Thursday.

The larger bench with Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder as the two other members was formed in 2015 to hear the case, largest in Bangladesh's history in number of convicts.

Deputy Attorney General Jahid Sarwar Kajal told the news agency that the case was kept on Sunday's cause list of the bench for announcement of the date.

In November 2013, a special court of an additional metropolitan sessions judge awarded the death penalty to 152 soldiers and non-commissioned officers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) for the 2009 Peelkhana mutiny massacre.