Home
+
Published : 06 May 2025, 08:03 PM
The chamber judge of the Supreme Court has stayed the bail granted by the High Court to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, the spokesman for the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, in a sedition case that accuses him of disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag.
Chamber Judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque issued the order following a state petition on Tuesday.
Lawyers Apurbo Kumar Bhattacharya and MK Rahman represented Chinmoy at the hearing, while Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state.
Apurbo told the media that the chamber judge suspended the bail order. The state will now file a leave to appeal after receiving a copy of the High Court's bail order. The plea will then be heard by the regular bench of the Appellate Division.
Earlier on Apr 29, the High Court bench of Md Atoar Rahman and Md Ali Reza granted permanent bail to Chinmoy Das, settling the rule issued on the matter in February.
The state sought a stay on the bail order on the same day.
The High Court issued a rule asking why Chinmoy should not be granted bail on Feb 4.
Chinmoy, head of the ISKCON-run Pundarik Dham Temple in Chattogram, had spoken out against attacks on minorities across the country since Aug 5 last year, calling for eight specific demands.
Following a public rally at Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan on Oct 25 of that year, a sedition case was filed on Oct 30 against Chinmoy and 18 others at Kotwali Police Station.
Chinmoy was arrested at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on Nov 25 in connection with the sedition case.
He has been in jail for five months.
On Jan 2, the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judges’ Court rejected Chinmoy's bail plea in the case. His lawyer Apurbo then filed the petition at the High Court on Jan 12.
When his bail was denied, clashes broke out in the Chattogram court premises on Nov 26 last year amid a ruckus by his followers.
In the ensuing chaos, lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed on the Rangam Convention Hall road.
A Chattogram court on Monday ordered Chinmoy to be shown arrested in the Alif murder case following the investigation officer’s plea.
The court later ordered him to be shown arrested in three cases filed by police and one by Alif's brother on Tuesday.
