The High Court has accepted jail appeals filed by Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter, who were sentenced to death by a tribunal for the rape and murder of Pallabi minor girl in Dhaka's Mirpur.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Mohammad Ali and Justice Md Saiful Islam passed the order on Sunday.
The two had filed jail appeals with the High Court against their death sentences handed down by the tribunal in the child rape and murder case.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the state during the hearing. Earlier, he urged the court to give priority to the hearing of the child rape and murder cases involving Magura girl and the Pallabi girl.
On June 7, the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Violence Suppression Tribunal sentenced the two accused to death in the case over the rape and gruesome killing of the seven-year-old girl in Pallabi. The trial court delivered its verdict just 19 days after the incident. In addition to the death penalty, the tribunal fined Sohel Rana Tk 5 lakh and Swapna Akhter Tk 2 lakh.
The trial court's judgment and all relevant records were sent to the High Court's Death Reference Branch on June 9 for mandatory confirmation of the death sentences. The matter has since been registered as a death reference.
Meanwhile, Sohel and Swapna filed separate jail appeals through prison authorities on June 11 challenging the trial court's verdict. According to a source concerned, the appeals were subsequently forwarded to the same High Court bench for consideration on admissibility.
In the wake of the Pallabi child rape and murder case and similar matters under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed Chowdhury on June 10 constituted a special High Court bench to hear death references, appeals and related applications on a priority basis.
The bench, comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice K M Rasheduzzaman Raja, is scheduled to begin its proceedings on June 14.
