21 Aug grenade attack: Leave to appeal hearing Tuesday

The Appellate Division has set Tuesday as the date for hearing on two separate leave to appeal pleas, filed by the state, against the acquittal order of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman and other accused in the 21 August grenade attack (murder and explosives) case .

An Appellate Division bench led by justice Md Ashfaqul Islam set the date today, Monday.

Earlier on 15 May, a six-member Appellate Division bench led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed adjourned the hearing until 26 May.

Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan was the defence lawyer at the court.

He told Prothom Alo the Appellate Division has set the date for hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, as the chief justice did not attend the court today.

The High Court on 1 December last year cancelled the lower court’s verdict in the case filed over the grenade attack on a rally of the Awami League two decades ago.

The two-member HC bench of justice AKM Asaduzzaman and justice Syed Enayet Hossain passed the order after holding hearings on the death reference, appeal, jail appeal and other pleas.

Due to this verdict, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, former home minister Lutfuzzaman Babar and other accused were acquitted from the case.

Later on 19 December that year, the 79-page full verdicts each in the two cases were published in the website of the Supreme Court.

Later, the state appealed against the HC verdict. On 13 March, the appeal was heard at a chamber court, which sent it to the regular bench of the Appellate Division.