The High Court on Thursday concluded the hearing of the death reference of 19 convicts and appeals against the trial court judgement in the case filed for the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka.
The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain announced that the verdict would be delivered any day.
On the last day of the five-day proceedings, senior defence counsel SM Shajahan argued extensively, seeking acquittal of the 19 condemned convicts, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu.
He also sought acquittal of 19 other convicts, including acting BNP chairman Tarique Rahman.
Shajahan argued that the second charge sheet in the case, filed during the military-backed interim regime in 2008, lacked validity.
The second charge sheet implicated senior BNP leaders, including Tarique Rahman, and government officials.
Shajahan specifically questioned the admissibility of a second confession reportedly made by Mufti Abdul Hannan, who has been executed on extremism charges.
鈥楾here is no legal basis for recording a second confession of an accused in the same case,鈥� Shajahan argued, challenging the foundation of the convictions.
Deputy attorney general Md Jashim Sarker, however, strongly defended the trial court verdict, arguing for its full endorsement.
In the five-day hearing, Jashim presented key findings of the case to underscore the gravity of the attack and the strength of the evidence.
The grenade attack on an AL rally on August 21, 2004 killed 24 people and injured scores.
The then leader of the opposition and AL president Sheikh Hasina narrowly survived the attack but suffered hearing damage.
Two cases 鈥� one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act 鈥� were filed for the attack on August 22, 2004.
The death reference and appeals had initially been heard by the High Court bench of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman.
That bench reviewed depositions of 235 witnesses in 18 months and adjourned the hearing on August 18, 2024, citing the need for the state law officers鈥� preparation.
The chief justice later reassigned the case to the bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain, where the fresh hearing began on October 31.
The case has received renewed attention amid shifts in the political landscape, particularly following the fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government amid student-people uprising on August 5.
The attack remains one of the most significant acts of political violence in Bangladesh鈥檚 history, highlighting questions of accountability and justice.
On October 10, 2018, the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced 19 individuals to death, 19 people, including acting Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman, to imprisonment for life term and 11 others to imprisonment for varying terms.
Tarique, the eldest son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, was tried in his absence, as he has been residing in London since 2008.
The 18 fugitive convicts, including Tarique, did not appeal against the trial-court verdict.聽
Former inspectors general of police Ashraful Huda, Shahudul Haque, and Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, former assistant superintendents of the Criminal Investigation Department Munshi Atiqur Rahman and Abdur Rashid, and CID special superintendent Ruhul Amin were among the 11 police officers convicted in the cases on the charge of diverting the course of the investigation.
The convicted police officers are now on bail.
Major death penalty recipients are former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, his brother Mawlana Tajuddin, intelligence officials former major general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury and former brigadier general Abdur Rahim, who died later.
The rest of the condemned convicts are suspected extremists Mowlana Sheikh Abdus Salam, Abdul Mazed Bhat, Abdul Malek, Shawkat Osman, Mohibullah, Abu Sayeed, Abul Kalam Azad, Jahangir Alam, Hafez Abu Taher, Hossain Ahammed Tamim, Moin Uddin Sheikh, Rafikul Islam and Mohammad Uzzal, and transport operator Mohamamd Hanif.
Besides Tarique Rahman, the political figures who were sentenced for life term are former prime minister Khaleda Zia鈥檚 then political adviser Haris Chowdhury, who died later, and former BNP lawmaker Qazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad.