Dhaka: The Supreme Court (SC) has scheduled September 4 for delivering its judgment on a state appeal challenging the High Court’s decision, which acquitted all individuals previously convicted by a lower court in connection with the August 21, 2004, grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the six-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, concluded the hearing and announced the date for the judgment. Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Masud represented the state, while Senior Advocate SM Shahjahan and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir defended the acquitted individuals.
On June 1, 2025, the Supreme Court granted a leave to appeal against the High Court’s December 1, 2024, verdict, which had overturned the lower court’s convictions. The High Court had ruled that the trial conducted by the lower court was unlawful, citing the lack of eyewitness testimony and the reliance on hearsay from the witnesses.
Defence counsel Advocate Shishir Manir explained that the High Court found the lower court’s judgment flawed as it was based on a forced confessional statement from Mufti Abdul Hannan, which lacked evidential weight. The grenade attack tragically resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people and injured many others during the rally in 2004.