The Appellate Division on Thursday adjourned till August 13 the hearing on a state appeal against the High Court judgment that acquitted all the people convicted by a lower court in the murder and explosives substances act cases filed over the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Avenue.
A six-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order after holding a hearing on the matter.
Additional Attorney Generals Mohammad Abdul Jabber Bhuiyan, Mohammad Arshadur Rouf, and Aneek Rushd Haque, along with Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud, represented the state. Senior Advocate SM Shahjahan and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir argued for the defence.
Earlier, on June 1, 2025, the apex court granted a leave to appeal petition filed against the High Court verdict that acquitted all those convicted by the lower court in the two cases.
On December 1, 2024, the High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain scrapped the lower court judgment after hearing the death references and appeals in the two cases, saying: “Death Reference is rejected, all appeals are allowed, all rules are absolute.”
Defence counsel Shishir Manir later told the media that the High Court observed the lower court trial was illegal, as it lacked eyewitness testimony and relied on hearsay witnesses. He added that the trial court’s verdict was based on the confessional statement of Mufti Abdul Hannan, which was deemed inadmissible as it was obtained by force.
The August 21, 2004 grenade attack left at least 24 people dead and many others injured during an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital.
