Criminal Appeal in Bangladesh: How to Appeal a Conviction (2026)

Criminal appeal Bangladesh: how to appeal a conviction in 2026

A criminal appeal Bangladesh courts will hear is a creature of statute: no appeal lies from any judgment or order of a criminal court except as the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 or another law provides.[1] Chapter XXXI of the Code, sections 404 to 431, fixes who may appeal, to which court, on what grounds and with what result, while the Limitation Act 1908 fixes the clock. Some of those clocks are very short: an appeal from a death sentence passed by a Court of Session must be presented within seven days of the sentence.[4]

This guide is for convicted persons, their families, complainants and victims who need to know how to appeal a criminal conviction, sentence or acquittal. It covers the forum for each trial court, limitation, the petition and hearing, bail and suspension of sentence, jail appeals, death references under section 374, appeals against acquittal under section 417, leave to the Appellate Division, and what the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 did and did not change. Cheque dishonour appeals, civil appeals and bail practice have their own TRW guides, linked below.

Summary: A conviction by a Magistrate or Joint Sessions Judge is normally appealed to the Sessions Judge within thirty days; a conviction by a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge goes to the High Court Division within sixty days, or seven days where the sentence is death. Every death sentence must also be confirmed by the High Court Division on a death reference. The Government may appeal against acquittal within six months, a complainant within sixty days. A further appeal to the Appellate Division lies as of right in death and life imprisonment cases and otherwise only with leave.

Key point: Chapter XXXI was not rewritten in 2026. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No XI of 2026) amends the Code through 28 amending sections, but in the appeals chapter it touched only sections 413 and 414, raising the fine-only threshold below which no appeal lies from Tk 50 and Tk 200 to Tk 5,000. The forum rules, section 417, section 426 bail and the confirmation procedure for death sentences are unchanged.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a criminal appeal Bangladesh law allows, and what it does not

Section 404 is the starting point: an appeal exists only where a statute creates one.[1] Where it does, section 418 provides that the appeal may lie on a matter of fact as well as a matter of law, and its explanation deems the alleged severity of a sentence to be a matter of law.[1] A first criminal appeal is therefore a full rehearing on the record. The appellate court reads the evidence afresh and is not confined to errors of law, which is why the appeal remains the most powerful remedy after conviction.

Cases in which no appeal lies

The Code closes the door in three situations. Under section 412, a person convicted on his own plea of guilty by a Court of Session, a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may appeal only as to the extent or legality of the sentence.[1] Under section 413, there is no appeal where a Court of Session passes a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding one month only, or where a Court of Session, a Chief Judicial Magistrate, a Metropolitan Magistrate or another first-class Magistrate passes a sentence of fine not exceeding Tk 5,000 only.[1] Section 414 applies the same Tk 5,000 limit to summary trials.[1]

Two safety valves keep these bars narrow. Section 415 restores the right of appeal where a petty sentence is combined with any other punishment, although imprisonment in default of fine does not count as a combination.[1] Section 415A gives every person convicted at a joint trial a right of appeal once an appealable judgment has been passed against any of them.[1]

Appeal, revision or quashment

Where an appeal lies and is not brought, section 439(5) bars revision at the instance of the party who could have appealed.[1] A convicted person cannot let the appeal period lapse and then seek revision instead. Revision and section 561A remain important for orders that are not appealable, such as orders framing charge, and for abuse of process; those routes are covered in our overview of criminal law in Bangladesh and by our section 561A criminal quashment practice. This guide concentrates on the appeal itself.

Which court hears a criminal appeal in Bangladesh

The forum of a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts recognise depends on the rank of the court that tried the case and, in one instance, on the length of the sentence.[1]

Magistrate convictions

Under section 407, a person convicted by a Magistrate of the second or third class appeals to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who may hear it or transfer it to an Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.[1] Under section 408, a person convicted by a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class appeals to the Sessions Judge.[1] Section 409 provides that an appeal to the Sessions Judge is heard by the Sessions Judge or by an Additional Sessions Judge, who hears only appeals that the Government directs or the Sessions Judge makes over.[1]

Joint Sessions Judge convictions

Section 408 also sends appeals from a Joint Sessions Judge to the Sessions Judge, subject to a proviso: where a Joint Sessions Judge passes a sentence of imprisonment exceeding five years, the appeal of all or any of the convicted persons lies to the High Court Division.[1] The proviso turns on the sentence actually passed, so counsel must read the sentencing order before choosing the court.

Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judge convictions

Section 410 gives any person convicted on a trial held by a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge a right of appeal to the High Court Division.[1] Murder, rape and other serious offences are tried at this level, so most High Court criminal appeals arise under section 410.

Special tribunals

Special statutes create their own appeals. Under section 28 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, a party aggrieved by an order, judgment or sentence of a tribunal may appeal to the High Court Division within thirty days. The Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No 85 of 2026) cut that period from sixty days, with effect from 25 March 2025.[6] Cheque dishonour convictions carry a mandatory deposit before appeal; see our guide to the cheque case appeal in Bangladesh.

The table maps the main routes. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Time limits: seven, thirty and sixty days

The Code itself sets few appeal deadlines; the First Schedule to the Limitation Act 1908 does. Article 150 allows seven days from the date of sentence for an appeal from a sentence of death passed by a Court of Session. Article 154 allows thirty days for an appeal under the Code to any court other than the High Court Division. Article 155 allows sixty days for an appeal to the High Court Division in other cases.

Article 157 allows six months from the date of the order for an appeal from an order of acquittal.[4] Where a special law fixes a different period, such as the thirty days in section 28 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, that period applies.[6]

How the clock is counted

Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act excludes the day on which the judgment was pronounced and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the sentence or order appealed from.[3] Section 371(1) of the Code entitles the accused, on application, to a copy of the judgment without delay and, outside summary cases, free of cost; section 371(3) requires a Sessions Judge who passes a death sentence to tell the accused the period within which any appeal must be preferred.[1] Apply for the certified copy on the day of judgment and keep the application and delivery dates. They are the evidence that the appeal is in time.

Condonation of delay

Section 5 of the Limitation Act allows an appeal to be admitted out of time where the appellant satisfies the court that he had sufficient cause for the delay.[3] Courts take a more liberal view of an imprisoned convict who depended on a lawyer or the jail office than of one who absconded. Explain every day of delay with documents. A condonation application is a separate contest and should be filed with the memorandum of appeal, not after an office objection.

How to appeal a criminal case: the petition and the hearing

Section 419 requires every appeal to be made by a petition in writing presented by the appellant or his pleader and, unless the court directs otherwise, accompanied by a copy of the judgment or order appealed against.[1] In practice the memorandum of appeal sets out the trial particulars, the conviction and sentence, the grounds, and the relief sought: acquittal, retrial, alteration of the finding or reduction of sentence. An application for bail and suspension of sentence is usually filed with it. The steps to appeal a criminal conviction run in the order below.

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Summary dismissal and admission

Under section 421, the appellate court may dismiss an appeal summarily if it finds no sufficient ground for interfering, but an appeal presented under section 419 cannot be dismissed without giving the appellant or his pleader a reasonable opportunity of being heard.[1] The admission hearing is therefore a real hearing. The memorandum should show at once why the conviction is unsafe: a gap in the chain of circumstantial evidence, a contradiction between the first information report and the testimony, an inadmissible confession, or a sentence beyond the court's power.

Notice, record and hearing

If the appeal is not dismissed summarily, section 422 requires notice to the appellant and to the officer appointed by the Government, and, in an appeal against acquittal, to the accused.[1] Section 423 then requires the court to send for the record, hear the parties and decide.[1] In the High Court Division the hearing is run on a paper book, a printed compilation of the first information report, charge sheet, depositions, post-mortem report, exhibits and the trial judgment.[10] Delay in preparing it is one of the main reasons High Court appeals take years.

What the appellate court can do

In an appeal from a conviction, section 423(1)(b) allows the court to reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the accused, order a retrial, alter the finding while maintaining the sentence, or reduce or alter the nature of the sentence, but not enhance it.[1] The proviso bars any punishment greater than the trial court could have imposed. Under section 428, the court may take additional evidence itself or direct a lower court to take it, recording its reasons.[1] Where the judges of a bench are equally divided, section 429 sends the case to a third judge, whose opinion decides it.[1]

Time for disposal

Section 442A directs an appellate court to dispose of an appeal within ninety days from service of notice on the respondents, counting working days only.[1] The direction is not a deadline that ends the appeal, and it is often exceeded. A death reference, criminal appeal and jail appeal from a Barishal tribunal judgment of 26 June 2018 were decided by the High Court Division by an advance order of 2 June 2025, acquitting the condemned prisoner.[8] On 31 August 2026 the High Court Division had 646,276 cases pending.[14]

Once the High Court Division decides, section 425 requires it to certify its judgment to the trial court, which must then make orders conforming to it.[1] Under section 430, judgments on appeal are final except as provided in sections 417 and 417A and in the revision chapter.[1] Under section 431, an appeal abates on the appellant's death, except an appeal from a sentence of fine.[1]

Bail and suspension of sentence pending a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts hear

Most convicts filing a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts list are in custody, and the appeal may take longer than the sentence. Section 426(1) allows the appellate court, for reasons recorded in writing, to suspend execution of the sentence and, if the appellant is in confinement, release him on bail or on his own bond.[1] Under section 426(2), the High Court Division may exercise the same power in an appeal pending before a subordinate court.[1]

Bail from the trial court to file the appeal

Section 426(2A) lets the sentencing court itself release a person sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, where an appeal lies and he satisfies the court that he intends to appeal, for long enough to present the appeal and obtain the appellate court's orders. The sentence is deemed suspended while he is on bail.[1] The application should be made on the day of conviction.

Bail pending leave to the Appellate Division

Section 426(2B) allows the High Court Division, once satisfied that a convicted person has been granted special leave to appeal to the Appellate Division against a sentence it imposed or maintained, to suspend the sentence and release him on bail.[1] Section 426(3) excludes the time spent on bail from the sentence if the appellant is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment.[1]

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 added section 498(2), allowing any court releasing an accused on bail to impose reasonable and fair conditions to prevent abscondence or ensure good behaviour, and section 499(3), allowing bonds to be submitted online, as the court permits, with sureties verified through their National Identification Number or other appropriate means.[2] How bail benches hear these applications is explained in our guides to High Court bail in Bangladesh and the CMM court bail process; interim stays before the Chamber Judge are covered in our stay order guide.

Jail appeals

A convict who cannot instruct a lawyer can still bring a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts must consider. Section 420 allows an appellant in jail to present his petition of appeal and the accompanying copies to the officer in charge of the jail, who must forward them to the proper appellate court.[1] This is the jail appeal. It is often filed by condemned prisoners alongside a regular appeal drafted by counsel, and the High Court Division hears the death reference, criminal appeal and jail appeal together.[8] [10]

A jail appeal is not a lesser appeal. In the Barishal case decided on 2 June 2025, the High Court Division rejected Death Reference No 72 of 2018, allowed the regular appeal, disposed of the connected jail appeal and ordered the appellant released.[8] Where a condemned prisoner has no lawyer, the High Court Division may direct the appointment of a state defence lawyer; on 16 June 2026 a special bench directed the Solicitor Wing of the Law Ministry to appoint a criminal law expert to defend two convicts who had filed jail appeals in the Ramisa rape-murder case.[10] Families of poor convicts should also read our guide to legal aid in Bangladesh.

The weakness of a jail petition is content. It is usually a short handwritten or form document with no grounds. Where a jail appeal is the only appeal on file, a lawyer should be engaged to file a supplementary memorandum, examine the paper book and argue the case.

Death reference under section 374

Section 374 provides that when a Court of Session passes a sentence of death, the proceedings must be submitted to the High Court Division, and the sentence cannot be executed unless the High Court Division confirms it.[1] The reference happens automatically. It does not depend on any appeal by the condemned prisoner, and the High Court Division must examine the whole case for itself.

The High Court Division's powers

Under section 375, the High Court Division may make further inquiry or take additional evidence on any point bearing on guilt or innocence, or direct the Court of Session to do so.[1] Under section 376, it may confirm the sentence or pass any other sentence warranted by law, annul the conviction and convict of another offence or order a new trial, or acquit. No confirmation may be made until the period for appeal has expired or any appeal presented within it has been disposed of.[1]

Section 377 requires a confirmation or new sentence to be made and signed by at least two judges, section 378 sends an equally divided case to a third judge, and section 379 requires the confirmation order to be sent to the Court of Session.[1]

Death references in 2025 and 2026

Delay in hearing death references has become a policy issue. A special High Court bench was formed on 10 June 2026 to prioritise death references and appeals in cases of violence against women and children.[11] Between 14 June and 15 July 2026 it delivered verdicts in ten death reference and appeal cases, having listed twenty for hearing.[12] In the Magura child rape and murder case the tribunal's death sentence of 17 May 2025 was taken up on 11 August 2026, and the High Court Division upheld it on 31 August 2026.[11]

The reference can also end in acquittal. In the 21 August grenade attack case the High Court Division rejected the death reference, allowed the convicts' appeals and acquitted all the accused on 1 December 2024; the Appellate Division upheld the acquittal on 4 September 2025.[13] For a condemned prisoner, the seven-day appeal under article 150 is the means of putting his own grounds before the court that decides the reference.[4]

Appeals against acquittal and inadequate sentence

An acquittal can be appealed, but only by specified persons and on narrower terms than a conviction. For a prosecutor or complainant, a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts will entertain against an acquittal must clear both a standing rule and a time limit.

Government appeals under section 417(1)

Section 417(1) allows the Government to direct the Public Prosecutor to appeal to the High Court Division from an original or appellate order of acquittal passed by a Court of Session, or to the Court of Session from an original or appellate order of acquittal passed by a Magistrate.[1] Article 157 of the Limitation Act allows six months from the date of the order.[4] Under section 427, when an acquittal appeal is presented, the appellate court may issue a warrant for the accused's arrest and commit him to prison or admit him to bail pending the appeal.[1]

Complainant appeals under section 417(2)

In a case instituted on complaint, section 417(2) allows the complainant to appeal against an original order of acquittal, to the High Court Division if the Court of Session acquitted or to the Court of Session if a Magistrate did, but only where the order involves an error of law occasioning a failure of justice.[1] Section 417(3) bars any complainant's appeal after sixty days from the order of acquittal, and section 417(4) bars a Government appeal once admission of an appeal from the same acquittal has been refused.[1] A complainant in a police case has no section 417(2) right and must ask the Government to appeal.

Notice to the acquitted accused

An acquittal cannot be reversed behind the accused's back. Section 422 requires notice to the accused in an appeal under section 417.[1] In Md Nazmul Islam v The State (Criminal Revision No 347 of 2021, judgment of 5 January 2023), a Sessions Judge had allowed a complainant's appeal summarily and reversed a Magistrate's acquittal without notice to the accused. The High Court Division set the order aside and directed the Sessions Judge to decide the appeal after serving notice.[9] If the appeal succeeds, section 423(1)(a) allows the court to order further inquiry or retrial, or to find the accused guilty and sentence him.[1]

Appeals for enhancement of sentence

Section 417A allows the Government to appeal to the High Court Division against a sentence on the ground of its inadequacy, and allows a complainant to appeal to the appellate court on the same ground within sixty days of conviction. No sentence may be enhanced without giving the accused a reasonable opportunity to show cause, and in doing so he may argue for acquittal or reduction.[1] A convict who appeals on sentence alone should therefore assess whether the State or the complainant is likely to cross-appeal.

Further appeal to the Appellate Division

Article 103 of the Constitution gives the Appellate Division jurisdiction to hear appeals from judgments, orders and sentences of the High Court Division.[5] An appeal lies as of right where the High Court Division certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution, where it has confirmed a sentence of death or sentenced a person to death or to imprisonment for life, or where it has punished a person for contempt. In every other case an appeal lies only if the Appellate Division grants leave.[5]

In practice, a convict whose criminal appeal Bangladesh's High Court Division has dismissed files a criminal petition for leave to appeal, while a condemned prisoner whose death sentence has been confirmed appeals as of right. Leave is granted where the petition shows a point of real substance, such as misreading of evidence that goes to the root of the conviction, a misdirection on law or a serious procedural failure. The Appellate Division is not a forum for re-arguing credibility. It is also busy: 39,554 cases were pending before it on 31 August 2026.[14]

After the Appellate Division, two avenues remain. Article 105 empowers it to review its own judgments, subject to law and its rules, and article 49 empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves and respites and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence.[5] Neither is a rehearing of the evidence.

What the 2026 amendment changed for a criminal appeal Bangladesh convicts file

The interim government amended the Code by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025. After the February 2026 election, Parliament passed the bill by voice vote on 7 April 2026; it was placed by Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman.[7] The resulting Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026, Act No XI of 2026 dated 10 April 2026, repealed both ordinances and saved action taken under them. Section 12 of the Act is deemed effective from 10 July 2025 and the rest from 10 August 2025.[2]

Changes that matter on appeal

• Petty-case thresholds. Sections 22 and 23 of the Act raised the fine-only thresholds in sections 413 and 414 to Tk 5,000. A fine of Tk 5,000 or less, standing alone, is no longer appealable.[2]
• Larger Magistrate fines. Section 2 raised the maximum fines in section 32 to Tk 5 lakh for first-class, Tk 3 lakh for second-class and Tk 2 lakh for third-class Magistrates, and removed whipping.[2] Fines above Tk 5,000 remain appealable, and many are now large enough to justify one.
• Bail conditions and online bonds. Sections 24 and 25 added sections 498(2) and 499(3), which apply to bail granted pending appeal as much as to bail before trial.[2]
• Compounding. Section 19 added section 345(8), allowing a court to facilitate compounding in compoundable cases, including by referral to the legal aid officer, and to preserve the parties' agreement on the record.[2]
• Trials in absentia. Section 18 substituted section 339B(1), allowing notice to an absconding accused to be published on official court, police and government websites as well as in a national Bangla daily.[2] Where a conviction in absentia is appealed, check that the required publication was made.

What did not change

The Act did not amend sections 404 to 412, 415 to 431, 439, 439A or 442A, and it left the confirmation procedure in sections 374 to 379 intact.[2] Its main reforms concern arrest, remand and investigation, explained in our guides to police remand and filing a criminal case. Those safeguards matter on appeal because breach of them can undermine the evidence, but they do not alter the appellate structure.

Lawyers for criminal appeal: who does what

A criminal appeal Bangladesh lawyers run well is built on the trial record, not on new facts. The appellate lawyer's work is to find the point at which the prosecution case fails on its own evidence and to present it within the time allowed. The institutions involved are set out below.

When choosing counsel, ask four questions. Does the lawyer practise regularly before the court that will hear the appeal? Will the lawyer personally read the full deposition record, rather than only the trial judgment? Can the firm manage the paper book, the certified copies and the bail application in parallel? And will the same team take the case to the Appellate Division if needed? For civil judgments the structure is different; see our guide to the civil appeal in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes in criminal appeals

• Missing the seven-day window. Families of condemned prisoners often assume the automatic confirmation process makes an appeal unnecessary. It does not; the appeal is how the convict's own grounds reach the court.[4]
• Filing in the wrong court. Check the section 408 proviso and any special statute before filing; a Women and Children Repression Prevention tribunal appeal goes straight to the High Court Division in thirty days.[1] [6]
• Relying on revision instead of appeal. Section 439(5) bars revision by a party who could have appealed and did not.[1]
• Ignoring the sentence. Section 418 treats severity of sentence as a matter of law, and section 35A requires custody before conviction to be deducted from imprisonment.[1] A sentencing ground is often the easiest to win.
• Leaving a jail appeal unsupported. A jail petition without grounds puts the burden on the bench; brief counsel or ask for state defence.[10]
• Appealing an acquittal on facts alone. A complainant's appeal under section 417(2) needs an error of law occasioning failure of justice, and must be filed within sixty days.[1]

Strategy for a criminal appeal Bangladesh courts will take seriously

Treat the day of judgment as the first day of the appeal. Apply for the certified copy, apply for bail under section 426(2A) if the sentence permits, identify the forum and calendar the limitation date that same day.[1] [3] Then read the depositions against the charge, not against the trial judgment. Most successful appeals rest on one or two clear points, such as an unexplained delay in the first information report, an identification that does not survive cross-examination, or a missing link in a circumstantial chain.

For complainants and victims, the calculation is different. Decide quickly whether the acquittal discloses an error of law, because the sixty-day limit in section 417(3) is strict, and press the Public Prosecutor early if the case was a police case. For anyone facing a long pendency, combine the appeal with a well-supported bail application and, where a stay or an interim order is needed, a prompt approach to the Chamber Judge. If you have been convicted, or need to protect a conviction or challenge an acquittal, contact TRW before the limitation period starts to run down.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a criminal appeal in Bangladesh?

Thirty days for an appeal to a Sessions Judge or other subordinate court, sixty days for an appeal to the High Court Division, and seven days from the sentence for an appeal from a death sentence passed by a Court of Session. Time for obtaining a copy of the judgment is excluded.[3] [4]

Which court hears an appeal from a Magistrate's conviction?

A conviction by a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the first class is appealed to the Sessions Judge under section 408; a conviction by a second or third class Magistrate goes to the Chief Judicial Magistrate under section 407.[1]

Can I appeal on the facts, or only on the law?

Both. Section 418 allows an appeal on a matter of fact as well as law, and treats the severity of a sentence as a matter of law.[1]

Can I get bail while my appeal is pending?

Yes. Section 426(1) allows the appellate court to suspend the sentence and grant bail for recorded reasons, and section 426(2A) lets the trial court grant bail to file the appeal where the sentence is one year or less.[1]

What is a jail appeal?

An appeal presented through the officer in charge of the jail under section 420, who must forward it to the appellate court. It is heard with any regular appeal and, in capital cases, with the death reference.[1] [8]

Is a death sentence automatically reviewed?

Yes. Under section 374 the proceedings must be submitted to the High Court Division, and the sentence cannot be executed until that Division confirms it.[1]

Can a complainant appeal against an acquittal?

Only in a case instituted on complaint, only against an original order of acquittal involving an error of law occasioning failure of justice, and only within sixty days of the order.[1]

Can the appellate court increase my sentence?

Not in your own appeal. It can increase it only in an appeal for enhancement under section 417A or in revision, and only after giving you an opportunity to show cause.[1]

Did the 2026 amendment change criminal appeals?

Only at the margins. Act No XI of 2026 raised the fine-only no-appeal threshold in sections 413 and 414 to Tk 5,000 and added bail conditions and online bonds; the forum, limitation and confirmation rules are unchanged.[2]

Can I appeal to the Appellate Division?

As of right where the High Court Division has confirmed or imposed a death sentence or life imprisonment; in other cases only if the Appellate Division grants leave under article 103(3).[5]