Dhaka, April 12 -- Retired district judge Masdar Hossain, the lead petitioner in the landmark case for judicial independence, has lambasted the current state of the legal system, claiming it has become a tool for "torture".

Speaking at a discussion on current judicial situation at the National Press Club on Saturday, Masdar highlighted a staggering backlog of 4.7 million cases currently clogging the country's courts.

"Our judiciary is not discharging justice, it is torturing those seeking it," he said.

Comparing the situation with neighbouring Nepal, he noted that a case there moves from the magistrate's court to the chief justice in just two years.

"In Bangladesh, murder trials can take 25 to 45 years. The Sagar-Runi case is a prime ...