Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday said life sentence means imprisonment until death, sparking debate among legal experts. During a visit to Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur, the chief justice said there was some confusion over the meaning of the term ‘life imprisonment’ and clarified it by saying that it means imprisonment until death. Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said life imprisonment refers to a 30-year term in jail as per Section 57 of the Penal Code. He also said such comments should not be made before cancelling or bringing an amendment to the Penal Code. An amendment to the law should be made and only then one can comment on it, he told The Independent. However, attorney general Mahbubey Alam agreed with the comment made by the Chief Justice. Criminal law expert advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said Section 53 of the Penal Code, 1860, specifies five types of punishments: life imprisonment, death penalty, simple or rigorous imprisonment, forfeiture of property and monetary fine.
Referring to Section 57 of the Penal Code, Khan said this section clearly stated that the duration of life imprisonment would be 30 years. When the court sentences one to life imprisonment, the accused has to serve a total of 30 years, he added.
Echoing Khandaker Mahbub Hossain’s views, Khan said before bringing an amendment to the Penal Code, one should not make such comments.
Barrister Belayet Hossain said although there is confusion over the duration of life term imprisonment, the life-term means imprisonment until death.
Explaining Section 57 of the Penal Code, Hossain said the 30-year term is considered for the purpose of granting remission to lifers on the ground of good conduct. The sentence of life imprisonment should be treated as 30 years, he noted.
However, Article 110 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stipulates that for the gravest forms of crimes (e.g., war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide), a prisoner ought to serve two thirds of a fixed sentence, or 25 years in the case of a life sentence.
The highest determined prison sentence that can be imposed by the ICC, besides life imprisonment, is 30 years.
In many countries, life imprisonment is deemed as a jail term for the convict’s entire life whereas in Mexico and the UK, life imprisonment is an indeterminate sentence.
In Bangladesh, life imprisonment does not normally imply that the convict is required to stay in prison for the rest of his or her natural life.
As per the provision of the Penal Code in Bangladesh, lifers have to serve 30 years in jail. But, after considering all facilities including government holidays, they need to serve a total of 22 and a half years in jail, Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said.
Many lifers in the country have already been released after they served 22 and a half years in jail, added Khurshid.  
During his visit to Kashimpur Jail, the Chief Justice went to the various units of the prison. He spoke to detainees and assured them of solving their problems.
He also said the masterminds behind all murders should be brought to book.
“I gave the final verdict in the Bangabandhu murder case, jail killing, war criminals case and many other cases. There were some errors in law in the Bangabandhu murder case. I was able to correct those flaws,” the Chief Justice said.
“It was sad but true that I was the only one who gave dissenting judgment in the jail killing case. It turned out that there was a conspiracy. I was stunned that they were not given punishment for conspiracy. Each of those who had been involved in the criminal conspiracy for a planned killing should be punished. So, I gave a dissenting judgment in the case,” he added.