Tarique Rahman The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday upheld a High Court verdict acquitting BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, former state minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, and all other accused in two cases over the 21 August grenade attack.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the unanimous verdict after hearing the state's appeal against the High Court decision.
The apex court rejected the appeal while making several observations regarding the evidence and procedures followed during the trial.
"In view of the facts, circumstances, settled propositions of law, and serious doubts regarding the voluntary nature of the confessional statements, we are of the opinion that the High Court was justified in rejecting the death reference, allowing the appeals and jail appeals, and setting aside the convictions and sentences passed by the trial court against the appellants and other convicts," the verdict stated. The court highlighted procedural irregularities in obtaining confessional statements.
It noted that the alleged mastermind of the attack, Mufti Abdul Hannan, gave his second confession four years after the first, while being held in a condemned cell for a prolonged period.
The remaining accused also made confessions after long periods in police custody. Moreover, confessions of three accused were recorded by a single magistrate on the same day in unusual haste, in gross violation of prescribed rules, the verdict said.
The apex court also rejected the High Court's suggestion that the case needed to be investigated afresh, stating that such observations were not warranted given the evidence and circumstances on record.
The court added that, in deference to the doctrine of separation of powers, judicial observations should not dictate policy outcomes.
The cases stemmed from a grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on August 21, 2004, which killed 24 people and injured around 300.
Then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, who later served as prime minister for 15 years before resigning and fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 amid a mass uprising, narrowly escaped the attack.
In October 2018, a Dhaka court had sentenced 19 people, including Babar, to death in connection with the attack.
Nineteen others, including Tarique Rahman, who is currently in London, were sentenced to life imprisonment, and 11 were handed varying prison terms. Subsequent death references, appeals, and jail appeals were filed against the trial court verdict.
Following the appeals, the High Court in December 2024 acquitted Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and all other accused, annulling the trial court verdict as legally unsustainable. The state then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, which concluded hearings on August 21, 2025 and scheduled September 4 for judgment delivery.
Lawyers SM Shahjahan, Mohammad Shishir Manir, and others appeared on behalf of the accused, while Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Masud represented the state.
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