August 21 grenade attack case: Appeal hearing against acquittal of Tarique, Babar begins

The Supreme Court’s six-member Appellate Bench, led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed, commenced hearing the appeal against the High Court’s acquittal verdict in the August 21 grenade attack case on Thursday. The prosecution presented its first arguments challenging the High Court’s ruling.

On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack at an Awami League rally in Gulistan, Dhaka, claimed 24 lives and injured many others. Following the attack, two cases were filed at Motijheel police station under murder and explosives laws. The investigation initially progressed under the caretaker government in 2008, when the CID submitted the charge sheet and the trial began.

After the Awami League returned to power in 2009, the investigation was expanded, adding 30 accused individuals to the case, including BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman.

On October 10, 2018, the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, presided over by Judge Shahed Nuruddin, delivered a landmark verdict. Nineteen individuals, including former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and former Deputy Minister for Education Abdus Salam Pintu, were sentenced to death.

Others sentenced to death include prominent figures such as Maulana Tajuddin, Maulana Sheikh Abdus Salam, Kashmiri militant Abdul Majed Bhatt, and several others. In addition, 19 accused including Tarique Rahman received life imprisonment, while 11 others were handed varying jail terms and fines.

The verdict also imposed two-year jail terms and fines on former police officials, retired military officers, and associates linked to the case.

Following the trial court verdict, the death reference and case documents were submitted to the High Court on November 27, 2018. Hearings on the death reference and appeals began in December 2022 before the High Court Bench of Justices Shahidul Karim and Md. Mostafizur Rahman.

After a reconstitution of the High Court Bench in August 2025, hearings resumed before Justices AKM Asaduzzaman and Syed Enayet Hossain, culminating in the High Court’s December 1, 2025 verdict acquitting all accused.

The prosecution has since filed a leave to appeal in the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, which was granted on April 21, 2025. The appeal hearing is now underway.