Staff Correspondent:

A chamber court of the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division has stayed the bail granted by the High Court to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, in a sedition case filed over alleged desecration of the national flag.

Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order on Tuesday after hearing an appeal filed by the state against the High Court’s decision to grant bail.

Earlier, the High Court had granted bail to Chinmoy after a final hearing on its rule over his bail on 30 April, declaring the rule as ‘absolute.’ The state immediately filed a petition with the Appellate Division seeking stay order on the bail order.

Additional attorney general Anik R Haque represented the state in the chamber court, while lawyers ZI Khan Panna, MK Rahman, and Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya argued for Chinmoy.

Anik R Haque said the chamber court has stayed the High Court verdict until a regular leave-to-appeal petition is filed. The leave-to-appeal petition will be filed following the publication of the full text of the High Court verdict.

Earlier, the Chattogram metropolitan sessions judge’s court had rejected Chinmoy’s bail plea on 2 January. He then sought interim bail from the High Court on 12 January. Hearing the bail petition, the High Court issued a rule on 4 February, asking why he would not be granted bail.

Firoz Khan, then general secretary of Chandgaon Mohra ward BNP in Chattogram, filed the sedition case with the Kotwali police station on 31 October last year, accusing Chinmoy and 18 others. Later, Firoz Khan was removed from the BNP, while the police arrested Chinmoy and some others under the case.

Following a court order denying Chinmoy’s bail on 26 November, clashes broke out on the Chattogram court premises, and lawyer Sayful Islam was hacked to death there. Chinmoy Krishna was taken to  jail from the court.

Later, the court suspended proceedings due to a strike called in protest of the killing on the following day.