Dhaka: The Supreme Court today granted a leave to appeal petition filed against the High Court judgment that had acquitted all the people convicted by the lower court in murder and explosives substances act cases filed over the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital on August 21, 2004. A six-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Additional Attorney Generals Mohammad Abdul Jabber Bhuiyan, Mohammad Arshadur Rouf, and Aneek Rushd Haque argued for the state plea today. Senior Advocate SM Shahjahan and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir stood for the defence in this significant legal development.
The High Court on December 1, 2024, pronounced its verdict, scrapping the lower court judgment in the two cases. The court came up with the verdict after holding a hearing on the death references, criminal and jail appeals filed in the two cases. The identical short judgments pronounced by the High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain stated, “Death Reference is rejected, all appeals are allowed, all rules are absolute.”
Defence counsel Advocate Shishir Manir explained that the High Court observed the lower court trial was illegal as it was not held in accordance with the law. He noted that no eyewitnesses were examined in the cases; rather, all the witnesses who were examined had only heard about the incident. Furthermore, he mentioned that the lower court’s judgment was based on a confessional statement by Mufti Abdul Hannan, which the court deemed to have no evidential value as it was taken by force.
The grenade attack on August 21, 2004, resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people and injured many others during the Awami League rally, making this case a matter of significant public and legal interest.