The Supreme Court has fixed 4 September for delivering the verdict in the 21 August 2004 grenade attack case that targeted an Awami League rally in Dhaka twenty-one years ago, leaving 24 people dead and over 300 injured.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed scheduled the date following ongoing hearings on the state’s appeal against the High Court judgment, which in December 2024 acquitted all the accused and ordered a reinvestigation.
Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Masud represented the state, while senior advocates SM Shahjahan and Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for the defence. The case involves high-profile accused, including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, and several intelligence officials.
The attack, one of the deadliest political incidents in Bangladesh, occurred at 5:22pm on 21 August 2004 on Bangabandhu Avenue as then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina concluded her speech. Activists formed a human shield to save her, but she sustained permanent hearing damage. Among the victims was Ivy Rahman, former Women Affairs Secretary of the Awami League and wife of ex-president Zillur Rahman.
The apex court proceedings began in June 2025 and have been adjourned several times. Survivors and families of the victims continue to seek justice more than two decades after the attack.