The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 15) adjourned the hearing on the government’s appeal against a High Court verdict that acquitted all accused in the 2004 August 21 grenade attack case, including former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, adjourned proceedings until May 26, following the first day of hearing.
The state was represented by Additional Attorney General Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan and Anik R. Haque, while SM Shahjahan and Shishir Monir appeared for the accused. Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Barrister Kaiser Kamal were also present during the hearing.
On December 1, 2024, the High Court overturned the lower court verdicts, acquitting all 49 accused. The full text of the judgment was released on December 19.
The state later filed a leave to appeal against the acquittals, which was referred to the full Appellate Division bench on March 13 by two chamber judges.
The August 21, 2004 grenade attack targeted an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka, killing 24 people and injuring around 300, including Sheikh Hasina, then the opposition leader and later prime minister.
On December 1, 2024, the High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman (currently an Appellate Division judge) and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain acquitted all the accused, overturning a 2018 lower court verdict that had sentenced 19 people to death and 19 others, including Tarique Rahman, to life imprisonment. The full text of the verdict was published on December 19.
The state subsequently filed separate leave-to-appeal petitions challenging the High Court’s ruling. On March 13 this year, two Appellate Division chamber judges referred the petitions to the full bench for hearing.
The original cases — one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act — were investigated and prosecuted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and tried at Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal-1. The tribunal delivered its verdict on October 10, 2018.
Among those sentenced to death were former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, Brig Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider, a former director of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), and the late Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, former director general of the National Security Intelligence (NSI).
Tarique Rahman, who is currently living in exile in London, was among the 19 sentenced to life imprisonment. Others include the late Abul Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and former BNP lawmaker Kazi Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad.
SMS/
