Two Supreme Court lawyers on Sunday in a legal notice on Sunday urged the Bangladesh government to demand $1 crore in seven days in compensation from India for the alleged wrongful detention of Badal Farazi, who was held in a robbery-murder case under the identity of another man, Badal Singh.
The lawyers, Md Mahmudul Hasan and Mohiuddin Jewel, also sought Farazi鈥檚 immediate release.
Farazi has been incarcerated in Kashimpur Central Jail, Gazipur, since his extradition to Bangladesh on July 6, 2018.
The notice, sent to the secretaries of the public security division and the foreign affairs ministry, the inspector general of prisons, and the Kashimpur Central Jail superintendent and jailer, excluded the Indian High Commission as a respondent, citing diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention.
According to the notice, all convicted prisoners are eligible for release after serving 14 years of actual imprisonment, as considered by the sentencing review board of India.
Despite Farazi completing 16 years鈥� of imprisonment, the authorities of Bangladesh have allegedly failed to place his case before the board for review, delaying his release.
Badal Farazi, 28, son of Abdul Khaleque Farazi and Sarafali Begum from Mongla in Bagerhat, entered India on a tourist visa on July 13, 2008, intending to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Shortly after crossing the Haridaspur border, Indian security forces detained him, mistaking him for Badal Singh, a suspect in the murder of an elderly woman in Amar Colony in New Delhi, on March 5, 2008 and he was later on August 22, 2015 sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.
Following his conviction in India, he was extradited to Bangladesh under a prisoner exchange agreement on July 6, 2018.
On July 11, 2018, the High Court dismissed a public interest litigation writ filed by Ain O Salish Kendra, which sought an order for Farazi鈥檚 release.
The court ruled that extradited individuals convicted abroad cannot be released under current legal provisions.
The notice calls for Bangladesh鈥檚 intervention to ensure justice for Farazi, emphasising the wrongful nature of his detention and the government鈥檚 inaction in reviewing his case.
