The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has commenced hearings on the state’s appeals challenging a High Court verdict that previously acquitted acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, former State Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, and several others in the August 21 grenade attack cases.
A six-member bench, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, presided over the proceedings and has adjourned the hearing until 26 May.
Representing the accused were Advocate SM Shahjahan and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir. Additional Attorney Generals Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan and Barrister Aneek R Haque argued on behalf of the state.
The hearing was originally scheduled for 4 May but was deferred due to the presence of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman on the Appellate Division bench that day. Justice Asaduzzaman had previously overseen the case in the High Court, and judicial protocol prohibits a judge from revisiting a case at the appellate level after ruling on it in a lower court.
The case stems from a Dhaka court verdict on 10 October 2018, which sentenced 19 individuals to death and handed life imprisonment to 19 others, including Tarique Rahman, in connection with the deadly grenade attack that targeted an Awami League rally in 2004.
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