The High Court today issued a rule questioning the legality of the president's power to grant clemency to convicted persons without any guidelines.
In the rule, the court asked the respondents to explain in four weeks why they should not be directed to formulate a guideline in order to regulate the exercise of the president's clemency power.
Secretaries at the cabinet division; ministries of law; home; parliament and the president's office have been made respondents to the rule.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule following a writ petition filed on January 20 by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan challenging the legality of the president's power to grant clemency.
In the petition, advocate Ishrat said that Article 49 of the constitution provides the president with 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.
Petitioner Ishrat also highlights examples where this power has allegedly been misused, citing examples such as the clemency granted to Joseph, a brother of a former chief of the army staff, and Aslam Fakir, a former Jubo League leader.
The petitioner stated, "Over the years, the president's clemency power has been grossly misused. During the period of previous government, a huge number of convicts were pardoned through this unfettered discretion where most of the convicted persons are murderers. This has led to public concerns about access to justice and eroded trust in the judicial system. To prevent further misuse, it is imperative to frame guidelines by the court for the exercise of this unfettered power."
Advocate Ishrat herself moved the petition while Deputy Attorney General Mohsin Kabir represented the state during the hearing.