The High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered its verdict on 24 August after hearing the death references, appeals and jail appeals filed by the accused.

The High Court upheld the death sentences of SM Siraj-ud-Doula, then principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (Degree) Madrasah, and student Shahadat Hossain Shamim.

Of the 16 accused sentenced to death by the tribunal, the High Court commuted the sentences of four to life imprisonment and acquitted the remaining 10.

In its full verdict, the High Court said, “Before concluding the judgment, we wish to make a cautionary observation here. We did not find even the minimum evidence against death-row convicts Mohammad Shamim, Ruhul Amin, Maksud Alam, the councillor, and Absar Uddin. Yet they were sentenced to death. Because of such imprudent sentencing, they have suffered for more than seven years in solitary condemned cells. Of the 16 convicts sentenced to death, we have so far found sufficient grounds to uphold the death sentence in only two cases in this case. The judgment (the tribunal verdict) delivered on the basis of such erroneous assessment has plunged the families of these unfortunate individuals into devastation. Such an imprudent and irresponsible sentence cannot be expected in any civilised society.”