SC upholds bail of Fakhrul and Abbas

Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a High Court order that granted bail for six months to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas in a case filed over the December 7 clashes between police and BNP in the capital’s Nayapaltan area.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order following a petition filed by the state seeking stay on the HC order over their bail.
The apex court also withdrew its chamber judge’s order that on January 4 asked the counsels for Fakhrul and Abbas not to furnish the bail bonds for them before the lower court concerned till January 8.
Now there is no legal bar for Fakhrul and Abbas to get released from jail following the Appellate Division order, said their lawyer Kayser Kamal.
The apex court also asked the High Court to dispose of in 30 days the rule that was issued on January 3 asking the state to explain as to why Fakhrul and Abbas should not be granted regular bail in the case.
Lawyer Zainul Abedin appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the BNP leaders, while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the state. Lawywers A J Mohammad Ali, Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Kayser Kamal, Ruhul Quddus Kazal and others were also present for the BNP leaders during the court proceedings.
Earlier on January 3, the High Court granted bail for six months to Fakhrul and Abbas in the case, after fourth time rejection by the lower court.
Later on January 4, the state filed appeal petition against the High Court order. Chamber Judge on that day sent the state’s plea to the regular bench of the Appellate Division for hearing and fixed January 8 for that.
The court also ordered the counsels for the BNP leaders not to furnish bail bonds for them before the lower court concerned till January 8.
The case was filed with Paltan Model Police Station on December 8, a day after the clash broke out in front of the party’s Naya Paltan office.
On December 7 last year, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.
Police later started three cases against up to 2,000 people over the incident. They also cordoned off the party office. Law enforcers picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes around 3:00am on December 9. They were shown arrested on charge of provoking party members to launch an attack on police in the Naya Paltan area.