SC paves way for Fakhrul`s release

Staff Correspondent: The Supreme Court has upheld the High Court order that had granted bail to BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in three vandalism and arson cases paving way for the release of him.

A four-member Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, on Monday turned down the three appeals filed by the government which sought stay on the High Court order that had granted bail to Fakhrul.

With the verdict there is no legal bar on releasing Mirza Fakhrul from jail, his lawyer Sagir Hossain Lion said.

The High Court on November 24 granted bail to Fakhrul for three months in the cases filed for vandalising and torching vehicles in the capital on January 4, 5 and 6.

The government on November 26 filed three appeals seeking stay on the High Court order. After a brief hearing, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Justice Hasan Foez Siddique sent the appeals to the full bench for their hearing on November 30 (today).

The BNP leader was first sent to jail on May 16, 2012, after his surrender before another Dhaka court in connection with a case filed for torching a vehicle in front of the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO) on April 29 that year.

risingbd/DHAKA/Nov 30, 2015/Mahidi/Augustin Sujan