Chinmoy Krishna Das granted bail in sedition case
The High Court has granted bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson of Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote and a former leader of Iskcon, in a sedition case filed against him for allegedly disrespecting the national flag.
The bench of Justice Ataur Rahman Khan and Justice Ali Reza passed the order today (30 April), disposing of another HC rule regarding his bail.
Chinmoy's lawyer, Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya, confirmed the development to the media.
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On 4 February, the HC issued a rule asking why Chinmoy should not be granted bail in the case.
The matter was later placed on the bench's cause list for 19 March, with the hearing date set for 23 April.
On 23 April, the date was postponed to 30 April following a request for more time by the state counsel.
Previously, on 2 January, the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge rejected Chinmoy's bail plea following which his lawyer filed the bail petition with the HC on 12 January.
Chinmoy is accused of sedition in a case filed on 31 October for allegedly desecrating the national flag. He was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on 25 November and handed over to the Chattogram Metropolitan Police the following day.
Following his remand hearing on 26 November, a clash between law enforcers, lawyers, and Chinmoy's followers resulted in the death of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif.
On 3 December, the court postponed Chinmoy's bail hearing to 2 January 2025, as no lawyer represented him during the earlier proceedings.
Later, on 12 December, Supreme Court lawyer Rabindra Ghosh submitted an authorisation letter on behalf of local lawyer Sumit Acharya.
