State v Sukur Ali: The Story of Miscarriage of Justice Sadiya S. Silvee 1 Abstract Offences committed against women and children in Bangladesh are now tried under Nari-O-Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain 2000. What will happen if a child under the age of sixteen years commits a crime punishable under the said Act of 2000? A similar question was raised before the Bishesh Adalat, established under s 6(2) of the then Nari- O-Shishu Nirjatan (Bishesh Bidhan) Ain 1995, in State v Sukur Ali. Despite having many judgments upon separate trial of juvenile from adults, the Bishesh Adalat of Manikganj continued the trial of juvenile Sukur Ali and convicted him with death penalty. Affirming Sukur Ali’s death penalty, the High Court Division stated that section 3 of the 1995 Act was a ‘non-obstante clause’ and had an overriding effect and the provisions of said Act of 1995 would prevail over the Children Act 1974. Although Appellate Division commuted his death sentence to imprisonment for life but it is a major question that whether the trial of Sukur Ali has been in accordance with law. As such, this paper attempts to dissect and analyse the whole trial from Bishesh Adalat to AD and addresses whether Sukur Ali’s trial appreciates the true spirit of article 31 of the Constitution, whether Sukur Ali’s trial before the Bishesh Adalat was justified. Accordingly, this article made a comparative analysis of Sukur Ali’s trial with the established legal doctrines relating to the juvenile justice system. Finally the paper aims at assessing the legality of Sukur Ali’s trial before the Bishesh Adalat, suggesting an approach that may be adopted by the judiciary while trying a juvenile. Keywords: Juvenile, Juvenile Justice System, Death Penalty, Best Interest of Child, Bangladesh. 1. Introduction The existing juvenile justice system in Bangladesh is approximately one hundred and seventy years old since the Apprentices Act was passed in 1 The Author is a Doctoral Candidate at Law School of Zhengzhou University, China. She has been serving (now on study leave) from before as a Research Assistant (Law) at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA). She is also associated with Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) under McGill University as a Legal Researcher. Her email address is sadiya.silvee@live.com