'The trial has to come to an end...'

At another level, trials of murders are much more important and these have to be completed more expeditiously. Thirdly, it is not an ordinary murder trial. It is the murder trial of the father of the nation and it is a murder which was committed more than quarter of a century ago. For these and other reasons, this case has to be concluded as soon as possible. If the accused involved in this crime can not be brought to book it directly and indirectly engenders the notion of impunity, i.e. that certain persons are above law and so much so that certain persons can get away by murdering a president of the country and his family. If we have a government and a state which can not ensure the trial of the murder of the most important person of the country, then it clearly sends a message to the general people that there may not be sufficient legal protection for them.

General principle in any criminal case is that the onus is on the state to initiate the prosecution and bring it to a conclusion. It is for the state to establish and prove that the persons accused are guilty. And the whole criminal justice system is nurtured in such a manner that if the state does not take any initiative a criminal trial may not proceed. In a civil case, on the other hand, the onus lies with the parties involved, the plaintiff and the defendant. And for conclusion of this particular murder trial, there is no legal and constitutional bar. What is required is to take some substantive initiative. For example, appointment of additional judges (temporary) in the Appellate Division is one avenue, but it requires initiative by the government.

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Shahdeen Malik is a legal researcher and Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.