The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of a prisoner, who has been in detention for 15 years on charge of killing his wife, to life imprisonment.
The six-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, pronounced the judgement on Tuesday after hearing appeal of one Swapan Kumar Bishwas against the High Court verdict.
Alongside reducing the death penalty of the convict, the apex court also directed to transfer him from condemn cell to the general ward of the jail.
During the appeal hearing, Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain stood for Swapan Kumar Bishwas without taking any fees. Mohammad Shishir Manir, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, also moved for the death-row convict.
Swapan Kumar Bishwas has been in jail for 15 years as he received death penalty for killing his wife in 2006.
He wrote a letter from the jail to Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain with the request to move for him without fee for saving his life from gallows. From the condemn cell, he writes, “I am passing inhuman life in the jail. Please save my life.”
After getting the letter, Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain moved for Sawan Kumar Biswas.
Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said that the death row convict did not kill his wife in a planned way. The murder took place at one stage of a family quarrel. Against this backdrop, he argued that Swapan Kumar doesn’t deserve death penalty or life-term imprisonment.
The Appellate Division bench thanked Khandaker Mahbub Hossain for providing legal support to a client without taking any fee. The bench also said that it will be mentioned in the full verdict of the case.
According to the case statement, Swapna Gosh, 35, first wife of Swapan Kumar Bishwas, of Noyatol village at Syedpur in Nilphamari was killed by the husband on October 16 in 2006.
Swapan Kumar hit her wife in the head following a family quarrel which was erupted for his second marriage.
On October 28 that year, police recorded a murder case in this connection. The accused was arrested on that day.
On June 18 in 2008, a Nilpahamri court awarded death penalty to Swapan Kumar. On April 9 in 2014, the High Court upheld the trail court’s judgement. Swapan Kumar appealed challaging the HC’s verdict.
