SC upholds acquittal of Tarique, 48 others in Aug 21 grenade attack case

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court’s acquittal of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and 48 others in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases, effectively nullifying the lower court’s conviction of all 49 accused.

At least 24 people were killed and scores, including the then opposition leader and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, were injured when grenades were hurled at the AL rally.

On October 10, 2018, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced 19 people to death, Tarique Rahman and 18 others to life term imprisonment, and 11 more to various prison terms.

Tarique, along with 15 other accused, was tried in absentia, as he has been living in London since 2008.

A six-member bench led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed also struck down the High Court’s directive for a further investigation into the attack, ruling that such an instruction to the executive branch violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

The apex court emphasised that judicial overreach into the domain of the executive — in this case, ordering the home ministry to conduct a fresh probe — was impermissible under the constitutional framework.

The Appellate Division dismissed the appeal filed by the state challenging the High Court verdict delivered on December 1, 2024, which had acquitted Tarique Rahman, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, and 47 others of murder and explosives charges, citing legal and procedural flaws in the 2018 trial court judgment.

The apex court casted serious doubt about voluntariness and the reliability of the 2007 confessional statement by Harkat-ul-Jihad leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and three other convicts of the cases which were the basis of the conviction of the accused by the trial court.

The apex court observed how the statement could be considered voluntary and truthful when Hannan was already a death row inmate at the time.

The Appellate Division also raised serious questions about the credibility of confessional statements recorded by Sultan Mahmud, the then additional chief metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka.

The magistrates handwrote the lengthy confessions of Mufti Hannan, his brother Mohibullah, and Moulana Sharif Shahidul Alam — all within five and a half hours in a single day.