Examine court's verdict: SC
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday cleared the way for examining whether the metropolitan magistrate court's verdict, in the case filed for abetting fine arts college student Simi Banu to kill herself 16 years ago, was correct or not.
Simi, 21, a final year student of Narayanganj Institute of Fine Arts, killed herself at her Khilgaon Sipahibagh residence on December 23, 2001 after she was tormented by a gang of hooligans.
She had left a note saying Khalil, Doel, Ripon, Mofazzal, and Sub-Inspector Abul Bashar of Khilgaon Police Station, who abetted them, were responsible for her death.
A metropolitan magistrate in Dhaka in 2002 acquitted Enayet -- an accused of the case -- of the charge and sentenced five others to one year's imprisonment in the case.
Yesterday, the Appellate Division of the SC asked the sessions judge's court in Dhaka to treat the appeal of Simi's father against the metropolitan magistrate's verdict as revision and to settle it through holding hearing.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after disposing an appeal filed by the accused against a High Court verdict to this effect.
Following the apex court order, the sessions judge's court will examine whether the metropolitan magistrate court's verdict that acquitted an accused and jailed five others for one year was correct or not in the case.
Simi's father Ali Emdad filed an appeal with the sessions judge's court against the metropolitan magistrate's court verdict, praying for increasing the sentence of the accused. The sessions judge's court accepted the appeal in 2004.
Then the accused, who are now out of jail, filed a petition with the HC for cancelling the sessions judge's court order. The HC in May 2006 rejected their petition. Then they filed a leave to appeal petition with the SC against the HC verdict. The SC in 2008 allowed the accused to move an appeal.
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