The Appellate Division on Sunday permitted to appeal against the High Court verdict that cleared all the accused, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, in the August 21 grenade attack cases.
A bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order.
The court also set July 1 for the hearing of the appeal and told the state to submit a summary of its appeal by that date.
Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan confirmed the matter.
Additional Attorney General Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan stood for the state, while lawyers SM Shahjahan and Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared for the defence.
The hearing on the government’s petition to appeal started on May 15 and continued on May 28 and June 1, when the court made its decision.
Earlier, on December 1 last year, the High Court cancelled the trial court’s verdicts in two cases—one for murder and another under the Explosives Act—related to the 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally.
The High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman (now a judge in the Appellate Division) and Justice Md Enayetur Rahim acquitted all the accused after reviewing the death references, appeals, and other petitions.
This decision cleared Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and others of all charges.
On August 21, 2004, grenades were thrown at an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka. The attack killed 24 people and injured over 100. Sheikh Hasina, who was then the opposition leader, narrowly escaped with injuries.
MSK/
