Staff Reporter ঃ
In a historic ruling, the High Court (HC) on Sunday overturned the trial court’s verdict in the high-profile case concerning the 21 August 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League (AL) rally in Dhaka.
As a result, all the accused, including BNP’s Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, were acquitted.
The verdict, delivered by a bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain on 1 December 2024, declared the entire trial process, including the charge sheet, illegal.
The court concluded that the convictions were based largely on hearsay evidence, with no direct witness testimony linking the accused to the attack.
The HC found that no investigation officer had identified the source of the grenades used in the attack.
The court also noted that confessions made by the accused had been obtained under duress, further undermining the legitimacy of the trial.
Defence lawyer Shishir Monir stated, “The trial was unlawful, as it was not conducted in accordance with the law.
The court found that the convictions relied solely on hearsay, without any corroboration among witnesses. Consequently, the death penalty was rejected, and all the accused were acquitted.”
Another defence lawyer, Zainul Abedin, emphasised that Tarique Rahman’s name was not included in the initial indictments and was only added later during investigations led by Abdul Kahar Akond.
He argued, “The court carefully reviewed all the evidence and found no basis for upholding the death sentences or convictions without direct evidence.”
