21 Aug grenade attack: HC verdict on appeals, death references tomorrow

The High Court (HC) will deliver its verdict tomorrow (1 December) on the appeals and death references in the murder and explosives cases related to the 21 August grenade attack.

According to HC Division sources, these two cases have been added as items 54 and 55 in tomorrow's cause list. The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain is scheduled to pronounce the judgment.

Earlier, on 21 November, the court kept the matters as curia advisari vult after a hearing on the death references and the appeals filed by those convicted in the cases.

Hearing on the matters began on 31 October with Deputy Attorney General Md Jasim Sarker representing the state and advocates SM Shahjahan and Mohammad Shishir Manir representing the accused.

Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan said the second charge sheet filed in the cases is not legally acceptable. Because the charge sheet was not submitted to the magistrate's court, it was directly submitted to the District and Sessions Judge Court.

"Therefore, this charge sheet cannot be accepted according to the Code of Criminal Procedure," he added.

Shahjahan also said, "There is no witness to say who detonated the grenade at the scene. No clue has not been found yet."

Speaking about BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, he said, "I have mentioned this, even though he has not filed any appeal. However, if the court deems that no evidence has been found against any of the accused in the cases, or if a lacklustre charge sheet has been submitted, the court has the authority to acquit them if the charges are not proven."

Lawyer Shishir Manir said the additional investigation conducted on the basis of militant Mufti Abdul Hannan's second statement has no legal basis.

"Punishment has been given for political purposes without specific evidence. The confessional statements of the accused in this case were obtained through torture."

Earlier on 10 October 2018, a Dhaka court sentenced 19 people to death, including former home affairs state minister Lutfozzaman Babar and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, in the two cases filed in connection with the grenade attacks.

Besides 19 others, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Another 11 were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment.

Later that year, on 27 November, the judgment, along with all necessary documents, of the trial court reached the death reference wing of the High Court. The imprisoned accused appealed against the verdicts of the court.

In 2022, a High Court bench led by Justice Sahidul Karim began hearing the appeals and the death references. In between the hearings, the bench was reconstituted, and the new bench restarted the hearing.