Bail for Fakhrul, Abbas: state challenges HC order

The state filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the High Court's bail order for BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas in a case filed over the Nayapaltan clashes.

The Attorney General's office submitted the petition to the SC this morning. 

The chamber judge of the Appellate Division may hold hearing on the petition in the afternoon.

Read more

Fakhrul, Abbas get six-month bail

Yesterday, the HC granted six months' ad-interim bail to BNP Secretary General Fakhrul and the party's standing committee member Abbas, clearing the way for their release from jail.

Both Fakhrul and Abbas have earlier been denied bail four times by the lower courts concerned in the case.

The case was filed with Paltan Model Police Station on December 8, a day after the clash broke out in front of the BNP's Nayapaltan office. The clash left one person dead and many injured.

Fakhrul and Abbas were picked up from their homes around 3:00am on December 9, a day before their Dhaka divisional mass rally, and were sent to jail after Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jashim rejected their bail petitions.

The two were shown arrested on charges of provoking party activists to attack police.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Huq today said the government did not interfere in the court proceedings regarding the bail of Mirza Fakhrul.

"Granting bail or not to any accused is the matter of the court. The law ministry, even any other ministry, do not interfere in the court functions. There are instances that a lower court has denied bail to an accused but the High Court has granted the bail. On the other hand, the lower court granted bail but the High Court halted the order. This is not anything new," he said.

The law minister was talking to reporters after attending as chief guest a workshop for lower court judges at Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) in Dhaka.