Murder Laws in Bangladesh: Homicide, Death Penalty, Extortion and Custodial Torture (2026)

Murder laws Bangladesh: the 2026 framework

Murder laws Bangladesh courts apply rest on a Victorian statute that still does most of the work: the Penal Code 1860. Its definitions of culpable homicide and murder, its five exceptions, its rules on common intention and unlawful assembly, and its sentencing provisions decide whether a killing ends in acquittal, a fixed term, imprisonment for life or a death sentence. Around that core sit the Code of Criminal Procedure, which sends murder trials to the Court of Session and every death sentence to the High Court Division, and special statutes on ransom and dowry killings.

This guide explains how murder laws Bangladesh courts apply fit together in 2026, and covers two related areas: extortion under sections 383 to 389 of the Penal Code, and custodial torture under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013, with the 2026 enforced disappearance law and recent International Crimes Tribunal cases. Bail, appeals, confessions and the rights of the accused have their own TRW guides, linked where relevant.

Summary: Culpable homicide is causing death with intention or knowledge; it becomes murder when one of the four clauses of section 300 of the Penal Code is met and none of its five exceptions applies. Murder carries death or imprisonment for life, and fine. Lesser homicide offences carry lower penalties. Murder is tried by the Court of Session, and every death sentence must be confirmed by the High Court Division. Extortion and custodial torture have their own penalties and remedies.

Key point: There is no mandatory death sentence for murder in Bangladesh. In the Shukur Ali litigation the Appellate Division declared section 303 of the Penal Code and the mandatory death provisions of the 1995 special women and children law ultra vires, so a court always retains discretion between death and imprisonment for life.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Murder laws Bangladesh: culpable homicide and murder distinguished

The Penal Code does not define murder in isolation. It first defines the wider offence of culpable homicide in section 299, then carves murder out of it in section 300.[1] Every homicide prosecution therefore asks two questions in sequence: was the death caused with the mental state section 299 requires, and if so, does the case fall within section 300 without being saved by one of its exceptions?

Police figures cited in an October 2026 policy brief recorded 605 murders across Bangladesh in March and April 2026 alone, with 55.5 per cent attributed to previous enmity and 0.5 per cent to political causes.[14] Most homicide trials therefore arise from personal, land or business disputes, where the line between murder and a lesser offence is contested.

Section 299: the three mental states

A person commits culpable homicide if he causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that he is likely by that act to cause death.[1] Without intention or knowledge, a death may still be a crime, but it is not culpable homicide.

Section 300: the four clauses of murder

Culpable homicide is murder if the act is done with the intention of causing death; secondly, with the intention of causing bodily injury the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the particular victim; thirdly, with the intention of causing bodily injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death; or fourthly, with the knowledge that the act is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death or such injury, and is committed without any excuse for incurring that risk.[1]

In practice the third clause decides most contested cases under murder laws Bangladesh courts apply. The prosecution must prove the accused intended the particular injury, and the medical evidence must show it was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. A single blow in a scuffle or an uncertain post-mortem can move a case from section 302 to section 304.

The five exceptions to section 300

The exceptions are where murder laws Bangladesh defence lawyers rely on most often. Each converts what would otherwise be murder into culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishable under section 304 rather than section 302.[1] The burden of bringing the case within an exception lies on the accused, but it can be discharged from the prosecution's own evidence.

Exception 1: grave and sudden provocation

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, kills the person who gave the provocation or another person by mistake or accident. The provocation must not be sought by the offender as an excuse, nor given by anything done in obedience to the law, by a public servant lawfully exercising his powers, or in lawful private defence.[1]

Exception 2: exceeding the right of private defence

Where the offender, exercising in good faith the right of private defence of person or property, exceeds the power the law gives him and causes death without premeditation and without intending more harm than necessary, the offence is culpable homicide, not murder.[1]

Exception 3: public servants acting in good faith

A public servant, or a person aiding one for the advancement of public justice, who exceeds his legal powers and causes death by an act he believed in good faith to be lawful and necessary for his duty, without ill-will towards the deceased, commits culpable homicide, not murder.[1]

Exception 4: sudden fight

The exception covers a killing without premeditation in a sudden fight, in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel, and without the offender having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner. It does not matter which party offered the provocation or struck first.[1] Repeated blows to a fallen victim, or bringing a weapon to the confrontation, usually defeat the exception.

Exception 5: consent

It applies where the person killed, being above eighteen, suffers death or takes the risk of death with his own consent.[1]

Penalties: sections 302, 304, 304A and 304B

The sentencing ladder in murder laws Bangladesh courts apply runs from fine to death. Our overview of criminal offences and penalties in Bangladesh explains the general rules on life imprisonment, fines and compounding; the homicide-specific provisions are these.

Murder: section 302

Whoever commits murder is punished with death or imprisonment for life, and is also liable to fine.[1] A court that convicts of murder must choose between the two.

Culpable homicide not amounting to murder: section 304

Section 304 has two parts. Where the act was done with the intention of causing death or bodily injury likely to cause death, the punishment is imprisonment for life or imprisonment of either description for up to ten years, and fine. Where it was done only with the knowledge that it was likely to cause death, without that intention, the punishment is imprisonment of up to ten years, or fine, or both.[1]

Death by negligence and rash driving: sections 304A and 304B

Causing death by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide carries up to five years, or fine, or both, under section 304A. The maximum was raised from two years to five by a 1982 ordinance, which also inserted section 304B: death caused by rash or negligent driving or riding on a public way, punishable with up to three years, or fine, or both.[1] Medical negligence deaths and workplace fatalities are usually charged under section 304A.

Section 303 and the end of the mandatory death penalty

Section 303 still appears in the printed Code: a person under sentence of imprisonment for life who commits murder "shall be punished with death".[1] It is no longer good law. In the litigation that grew out of the case of Shukur Ali, who was fourteen at the time of the offence and sentenced under a mandatory provision, the Appellate Division on 5 May 2015, in Civil Appeal No. 116 of 2010, declared sub-sections (2) and (4) of section 6 of the Nari-o-Shishu Nirjatan (Bishesh Bidhan) Ain 1995 and section 303 of the Penal Code ultra vires the Constitution.[4] The Court held that there is no mandatory death sentence even for murder by a life convict.

Special laws: ransom, dowry and rape-related killings

Some killings are charged under special statutes and tried by Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals. Under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, causing the death of a woman for dowry under section 11(ka), and death resulting from rape or the rapist's subsequent acts under section 9(2), each carry death or imprisonment for life, and fine; section 9(2) adds a minimum fine of Tk 2 lakh.[5] Detaining a woman or child for ransom is punishable under section 8 with death or imprisonment for life, and fine.[5]

Within the Penal Code itself, section 364A punishes kidnapping or abducting a person under ten so that the child may be murdered, subjected to grievous hurt, slavery or lust, with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment of seven to fourteen years.[1] The statute chosen fixes the forum and the bail test; see our guide to bail in murder cases in Bangladesh.

Joint liability: section 34 and section 149

Most murder cases name several accused, and many name dozens. Two provisions decide who is liable.

Section 34: common intention

When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of them is liable for that act as if he had done it alone.[1] Section 34 creates no separate offence. The prosecution must prove a meeting of minds, which may form on the spot, and participation in the act; mere presence is not enough.

Section 149: common object of an unlawful assembly

Section 149 goes further. If an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly in prosecution of its common object, or is one the members knew was likely to be committed in prosecuting that object, every person who was a member of the assembly at the time is guilty of it.[1] An unlawful assembly requires five or more persons.[1] Section 149 does not require proof that a particular accused struck any blow, which is why it is routinely invoked in village clashes and political violence.

Because section 149 can make a passive member of a crowd liable for murder, courts scrutinise omnibus allegations with care. The defence usually turns on showing that the accused was not part of the assembly or that its common object did not extend to killing. These arguments are also central to bail and to early quashment applications under section 561A.

The death sentence and commutation

Bangladesh retains the death penalty for murder, but murder laws Bangladesh judges apply do not permit a death sentence imposed automatically. Since 2015 every capital sentence is a matter of judicial discretion that must be justified on the facts.[4]

How courts choose between death and life imprisonment

Sentencing turns on aggravating features such as premeditation, brutality, the vulnerability of the victim and the motive, weighed against mitigating ones. In the Shukur Ali review, the Appellate Division applied mitigating factors drawn from Nalu v State: the absence of a significant criminal history, youth at the time of the offence, the unlikelihood of future violence if released, and prolonged confinement under sentence of death.[4] Shukur Ali had been in the condemned cell since 12 July 2001, and the Court commuted his death sentence to imprisonment for life.[4]

Executive commutation and mercy

Under Article 49 of the Constitution, the President has power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority.[3] The Code of Criminal Procedure separately gives the Government power to suspend or remit sentences under section 401 and to commute punishment under section 402, and section 402A provides that in death cases these powers may also be exercised by the President.[2] A mercy petition is the last step after the judicial process, not a substitute for it.

How a murder case is tried in the Court of Session

A murder case normally begins with a first information report at the police station or a complaint petition before a Magistrate. Our guides to filing a criminal case and the criminal case process cover the investigation stage. Once a charge sheet is accepted, the Magistrate sends the case to the Court of Session, which tries murder under Chapter XXIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure.[2]

The Sessions trial in outline

The Public Prosecutor conducts the trial under section 265A. After hearing both sides, the court discharges the accused under section 265C or frames a charge under section 265D. Prosecution witnesses, including the post-mortem doctor and the investigating officer, are examined and cross-examined; the accused is examined under section 342 and may call evidence; and if there is no evidence against him the court acquits under section 265H. After arguments under section 265J, judgment follows under section 265K.[2]

Evidence that decides murder trials

Three bodies of evidence dominate: eyewitnesses, often relatives whose evidence is examined closely for embellishment; medical evidence, which must fit the prosecution story; and confessions. A section 164 confession can found a conviction only if voluntary and true; see our analysis of retracted confessions in Bangladesh.

Bail during trial

Murder is non-bailable and section 497 sets a strict test, but release remains possible on delay, weak evidence of participation or omnibus allegations. See our dedicated murder bail guide.

Death reference and appeal

When a Court of Session passes a sentence of death, section 374 requires the proceedings to be submitted to the High Court Division, and the sentence cannot be executed unless that court confirms it.[2] The reference is automatic and does not depend on any appeal by the condemned prisoner, and the High Court Division may confirm the sentence, substitute another, order a retrial or acquit. If confirmed, the sentence is carried out under section 368.[2]

Time limits, bail pending appeal and appeals against acquittal are explained in our guide to the criminal appeal in Bangladesh. A Sessions conviction is not final: the prosecution case must survive each stage.

Extortion under sections 383 to 389 of the Penal Code

Extortion often sits at the start of the violence that murder laws Bangladesh prosecutors deal with: a demand for money from a trader, builder or landowner, then threats, sometimes an attack. When a demand ends in a killing, section 302 is charged alongside the extortion sections.

What counts as extortion

A person commits extortion if he intentionally puts any person in fear of any injury to that person or to another, and thereby dishonestly induces the person so put in fear to give a donation or subscription of any kind, or to deliver any property, valuable security or anything signed or sealed that may be converted into a valuable security.[1] The reference to donations and subscriptions was added by the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 1991 to catch forced "chanda" collections.[1] "Injury" extends to harm to body, mind, reputation or property, so a threat to publish damaging material can suffice.[1]

The punishment ladder

• Section 384, extortion: imprisonment of up to three years, or fine, or both.[1]
• Section 385, putting a person in fear of injury to commit extortion: imprisonment of not less than five and up to fourteen years, or fine, or both.[1]
• Section 386, extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt: imprisonment of up to ten years, and fine.[1]
• Section 387, putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt to commit extortion: imprisonment for life with a statutory minimum of seven years, and fine.[1]
• Sections 388 and 389, threats of accusing a person of a serious offence: imprisonment of up to ten years and fine, rising to imprisonment for life where the threatened accusation is of an offence under section 377.[1]

Since the 1991 amendments, a threat to kill or seriously injure made to obtain money is punished more heavily than a completed extortion by lesser threats, even if nothing is paid.[1] Record the exact words of every threat, who made it, how and when.

Ransom and kidnapping

Where a person is taken and held for money, the case moves beyond extortion. Detaining a woman or child for ransom falls under section 8 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, with death or life imprisonment.[5] Adult kidnappings are charged under the Penal Code's kidnapping provisions, often with the extortion sections.

Political and commercial extortion in 2025 and 2026

Extortion has remained a dominant law-and-order issue under the elected government. In early October 2026 Dhaka Metropolitan Police announced the arrest of 41 suspected extortionists in a four-day crackdown that followed attacks on a private healthcare centre in Mirpur and other premises; police said sustained drives against listed suspects would follow.[13] In the same period the governing party expelled a Pallabi ward leader after an investigation alleged extortion and land grabbing in Mirpur, and on 30 September 2026 dissolved three Dhaka committees and expelled 14 leaders.[14]

Filing and trying an extortion case

An extortion case starts with an FIR or, where police refuse, a complaint petition before the Magistrate; our comparison of a GD and an FIR explains when a general diary is enough. The strongest prosecutions rest on contemporaneous evidence: recorded calls, preserved messages, bank or mobile-wallet transfers and CCTV.

Custodial torture: the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013

The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013 gives a person tortured by a public official, or the family of a person who died in custody, a direct criminal route against the officers responsible. It overrides any other law.[6] Arrest-stage safeguards are covered in our guide to the rights of the accused; this section focuses on how a victim brings a case.

What the Act covers

Torture means physical or mental abuse causing suffering, including abuse used to extract information or a confession, to punish, or to intimidate, carried out, incited or consented to by a public official. Custodial death covers death in official custody, unlawful detention, arrest or interrogation.[6] The Penal Code also separately punishes causing hurt, and wrongful confinement, to extort a confession, under sections 330 and 348.[1]

Three ways to file a torture complaint

• Before the court where the victim is produced: if a person tells a court he has been tortured, the court must record his statement immediately and order a medical examination by a registered doctor, a female doctor for a woman, with a report within 24 hours.[6]
• Court-directed case: under section 5 the court sends the statement to the Superintendent of Police or a higher officer and orders a case to be filed; if a fair police investigation is not possible, the victim may ask the court for a judicial inquiry instead.[6]
• Complaint to the Sessions Judge: under section 7 a victim or any third party may complain to the Court of the Sessions Judge or to a police officer of at least Superintendent rank, who must register a case and report to the Sessions Judge within 24 hours.[6]

Time limits, bail and protection

The investigating officer may not be junior in rank to the accused officer, and the complainant may object to the investigation report within 30 days of notice. The investigation must be completed within 90 working days, and the trial, held only in the Court of the Sessions Judge, within 180 days of filing, extendable by 30 days.[6] All offences under the Act are cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable, and a principal accused may not be granted bail without the complainant being heard.[6] A complainant may seek a protection order from the Sessions Judge, who must decide within 14 days.[6] War, political instability, emergency or a superior's order are no defence.[6]

Punishment and compensation

Torture carries at least five years' rigorous imprisonment or a fine of at least Tk 50,000, or both, together with Tk 25,000 compensation to the victim. Torture causing death carries imprisonment for life or a fine of at least Tk 1 lakh, or both, together with Tk 2 lakh compensation. Attempt, abetment and conspiracy carry at least two years or a fine of at least Tk 20,000.[6] The convict must deposit the amounts with the trial court within 14 days, and no appeal to the High Court Division is entertained until he does.[6] Where harm results from an official's negligence, the burden shifts to the accused to prove it did not.[6]

The Johnny case: what a torture prosecution looks like

Ishtiaq Hossain Johnny died after being taken into police custody in Pallabi, Dhaka, on 9 February 2014; police refused the family's complaint, so his brother filed under the 2013 Act. On 9 September 2020 the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge sentenced three police officers to imprisonment for life with Tk 2 lakh compensation each, and two informants to seven years.[7] In September 2026 BLAST was still seeking disposal of the appeal and payment of the compensation, more than twelve years after the death.[7] Torture cases need early medical evidence, persistent follow-up and often a writ petition.

Enforced disappearance and the International Crimes Tribunal

The 2026 enforced disappearance law

On 6 September 2026 Parliament passed the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill 2026, replacing lapsed interim-government ordinances.[8] Enforced disappearance is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Where the victim dies or remains untraced for more than five years, the punishment is death or imprisonment for life and a fine of up to Tk 1 crore; in other cases at least three years' imprisonment or imprisonment for life and a fine of Tk 50,000.[8]

Investigation and trial must finish within 120 days, trial in absentia is permitted, victims and witnesses are protected, a compensation fund is created, and a disciplined force may not investigate its own members. The opposition called the Act weaker than the earlier ordinance.[8]

ICT cases in 2025 and 2026

The International Crimes Tribunal is now the main forum for state killings and disappearances before August 2024. On 17 November 2025 it sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in the suppression of the July and August 2024 protests.[10] On 18 December 2025 ICT-1 framed charges against Sheikh Hasina and twelve others, including former DGFI directors, over 26 enforced disappearances and torture at the Joint Interrogation Cell between 2015 and 2024.[9]

By 12 September 2026 the tribunals had delivered verdicts in six cases, sentencing 16 accused to death and 11 to imprisonment for life.[11] On 15 September 2026 a three-member bench headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury sentenced seven Awami League and youth-wing leaders, including former general secretary Obaidul Quader, to death for crimes against humanity during the 2024 uprising.[12] See our note on the International Crimes Tribunal amendments.

Comparing the main offences

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Step-by-step: acting on a murder, extortion or torture case

For a victim's family, a business under threat or an accused person, the first weeks shape the case.

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Mistakes to avoid

• Overcharging in the FIR: alleging section 302 against every rival invites omnibus-allegation arguments that help genuine offenders.
• Losing the medical evidence: a delayed post-mortem or medical examination can sink a murder or torture case.
• Paying extortion quietly: payment rarely ends the demand.
• Ignoring the exceptions: contesting identity alone can overlook an Exception 1, 2 or 4 argument that reduces the conviction to section 304.
• Missing torture-law deadlines: the 30-day objection window and 90-day investigation limit are the complainant's tools.

Murder laws Bangladesh: what to watch in 2026

Three developments will shape murder laws Bangladesh practitioners apply over the coming year. The enforced disappearance Act of September 2026 needs rules and first prosecutions before its reach is known. International Crimes Tribunal verdicts in uprising and disappearance cases will move to the Appellate Division. And the autumn 2026 extortion crackdown is likely to generate many new FIRs, with the familiar mass-accused problems under sections 34 and 149.

The earliest decisions carry the most weight. Our criminal defence guide explains how to choose counsel, and you can contact TRW to discuss a case.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between culpable homicide and murder in Bangladesh?

Culpable homicide under section 299 of the Penal Code is causing death with intention or knowledge. It is murder under section 300 only if one of the four aggravated mental states is proved and none of the five exceptions applies.[1]

What is the punishment for murder in Bangladesh?

Section 302 of the Penal Code provides for death or imprisonment for life, and fine. The court chooses between the two; neither is mandatory.[1] [4]

Is the death penalty mandatory for any murder in Bangladesh?

No. In 2015 the Appellate Division declared section 303 of the Penal Code and the mandatory death provisions of the 1995 special law ultra vires, holding that there is no mandatory death sentence even for murder by a life convict.[4]

What is the punishment for causing death by negligence?

Under section 304A, up to five years' imprisonment, or fine, or both. Death by rash or negligent driving on a public way under section 304B carries up to three years, or fine, or both.[1]

Can several people be convicted of murder for one death?

Yes. Under section 34 each person acting in furtherance of a common intention is liable as if he acted alone, and under section 149 every member of an unlawful assembly is guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of its common object.[1]

Which court tries a murder case, and what happens after a death sentence?

The Court of Session tries murder. A death sentence must be submitted to the High Court Division under section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and cannot be executed until confirmed.[2]

Can the President commute a death sentence?

Yes. Article 49 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant pardons and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence, and section 402A of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets the President exercise the commutation powers in death cases.[3] [2]

What is the punishment for extortion in Bangladesh?

Extortion under section 384 carries up to three years, or fine, or both. Threatening death or grievous hurt to commit extortion under section 387 carries imprisonment for life with a minimum of seven years, and fine.[1]

How do I file a custodial torture case in Bangladesh?

Tell the court where the victim is produced, which must record the statement and order a medical examination, or complain to the Sessions Judge or a police officer of at least Superintendent rank under section 7 of the 2013 Act.[6]

What compensation does the torture law provide?

Tk 25,000 for torture and Tk 2 lakh for torture causing death, payable by the convicted officer in addition to the sentence and deposited before any appeal.[6]