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Published : 04 Sep 2025, 10:37 AM
The Supreme Court has cleared BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and all other defendants in the August 21 grenade attack case, bringing an end to years of legal proceedings over one of the country’s most notorious acts of political violence.
A six-judge Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the ruling on Thursday, dismissing appeals filed by the state against the High Court’s acquittals.
Handing down its verdict in a packed courtroom attended by senior lawyers, the court ruled the High Court’s judgment, which had overturned a lower court’s convictions, was being upheld “with observations, expansions and modifications”. It also said that those who had not appealed, including Tarique, would also benefit from the acquittals.
The bench ordered that any accused still in jail must be released immediately if no other cases are pending against them.
In its observations, the Appellate Division highlighted irregularities in the investigation and prosecution, noting that confessions by several defendants, including militant leader Mufti Hannan, were tainted by torture, recorded under questionable circumstances, and in some cases, even taken after his execution.
The court dismissed the High Court’s earlier call for a reinvestigation, saying such matters fell under the remit of the executive, not the judiciary.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, defence lawyers said the verdict reaffirmed that the case was marred by flawed investigations and coerced confessions.
Senior BNP lawyer AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon said Tarique faced no other pending cases, meaning the ruling cleared him of all charges in connection with the 2004 attack.
The appeal hearings began on Jul 17 and continued until Aug 21.
On Dec 1, 2024, the High Court acquitted all the accused, including Tarique and former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, in the high-profile case.
The attack on Aug 21, 2004, during the coalition government of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, targeted a rally headlined by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina on Bangabandhu Avenue, killing 24 people.
The trial court had handed down the death sentence to 19 people, including Babar, while Tarique was among 19 others jailed for life. Eleven police and Army personnel also received varying prison terms.
The High Court granted the appeals of the accused, dismissed the death references, and acquitted all, regardless of whether they had appealed.
The December verdict sparked a backlash on social media, with many netizens expressing shock that all suspects were acquitted.
Families of the 24 people killed in the attack questioned whether justice would ever be served.
The full 79-page judgment, published on Dec 19 on the Supreme Court’s website, described the attack as a “heinous and tragic” chapter in Bangladesh’s history, noting the deaths of many, including senior Awami League leader Ivy Rahman.
