Negligence costs Biswas 13 years

While we may express dismay and sympathy for Zobed Ali Biswas who spent an additional 13 years in jail after being acquitted in a case, can we even begin to comprehend what the man had to endure during incarceration despite being declared innocent? No, we cannot imagine what it must have been like for the man who came to know in 2005 from jail authorities that he had been acquitted in a case that gave him a life term for allegedly poisoning his daughter; who had sent letter after letter over a five year period to the Additional Sessions Judge's Court of Satkhira to seek information about his appeal – and not received any reply. Biswas's case is not the first and will probably not be the last we will see where a High Court (HC) judgement was not passed on to jail authorities by a local court.

The HC has asked authorities to explain why this should not be treated as negligence of duty and why the victim should not be compensated by Tk 2 million as per petition by Biswas's lawyers. This case cannot be treated lightly as it brings forth the question of accountability and proper discharge of responsibility of duties by both the administration and the court system. Any lapse at any stage results in ordinary people falling victim to the situation that cost Biswas precious years of his life. We hope the government will take into account these facts and address loopholes in the system so citizens in the future are spared such treatment.