The High Court (HC) will hold a hearing on a rule regarding the bail of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote and former ISKCON leader, in a sedition case following the court’s vacation and Eid holidays.
Both the vacations will continue until 19 April.
An HC bench comprising Justice Md Atoar Rahman and Justice Ali Reza set the hearing date, according to the defendant’s lawyer, Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee.
Earlier, on 4 February, the HC issued a rule asking the government to explain why Chinmoy should not be granted bail in the sedition case, after rejecting his initial bail plea.
On 19 March, the rule was presented before the court for a hearing, and the HC scheduled the date, which was revealed today (Sunday).
Additional Attorney Generals Aneek R Haque and Arshadul Rauf represented the state during the hearing.
The sedition case was filed following a large gathering of the Sanatani community in Chattogram on 25 October last year, led by Chinmoy Krishna Das. On 31 October, a sedition case was filed against 19 individuals, including Chinmoy, on charges of belittling the national flag.
Another mass rally was held in Rangpur under Chinmoy's leadership on 22 November. He was arrested in Dhaka on 25 November in connection with the case.
On December 11 last year and again on 2 January this year, the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court denied Chinmoy's bail request.
Following the Chattogram court's rejection of his bail plea, clashes erupted between Chinmoy’s followers, law enforcers, and lawyers on the court premises.
During the unrest, a lawyer, Saiful Islam Alif, was hacked to death outside the court premises.
