The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court's earlier verdict acquitting BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and other accused in the 21 August 2004 grenade attack case.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed upheld the HC verdict, with some observations.
On 21 August this year, after a five-day hearing on the appeal, the Appellate Division sert September 4 tyo deliver its verdict. During the hearing, the state requested that the trial court's sentencing verdict be upheld. However, the defence lawyers petitioned for the state's appeal to be dismissed and for the High Court's verdict to be maintained.
In 2004, a horrific grenade attack took place at an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue, recently renamed the Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue, in the capital on 21 August.
Twenty-four people, including Awami League Women's Affairs Secretary Ivy Rahman, were killed and at least 300 were injured. The then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped with her life.
Two separate cases were filed – one over murder and another under the explosive substances act – following the attack.
The lower courts announced its verdict in 2018, sentencing 19 people, including former state minister for home affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar and former Deputy Minister Abdus Salam Pintu, to death.
Nineteen others, including Tarique, were sentenced to life imprisonment and 11 others were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and fines.
On 1 December last year, the High Court acquitted the accused by quashing all the sentences given by the lower courts.
The High Court verdict said although the incident was horrific and tragic, there was a clear lack of a fair and independent investigation. The court recommended sending the case to the home ministry and starting a new investigation through a specialised agency.
The full verdict was published on the Supreme Court's website on 19 December last year. The state then filed separate leave to appeal petitions. The Appellate Division granted the appeal in the explosives case on 1 June this year.
Later, the hearing on the appeal began on July 17 through presentation from the case summary.
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