Abrar Death Case: SC upholds HC order staying trial of Matiur

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a High Court order that stayed the trial proceedings of a case filed against Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman over the death of Dhaka Residential Model College student Naimul Abrar Rahat.

Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed "no order" on a petition filed by the state seeking stay on the HC order.

The HC stay order on the trial proceedings of the case will now remain in force, Matiur's lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan told The Daily Star.

Assistant Attorney General Md Saiful Islam appeared for the state at the hearing.

On December 13, the HC stayed for six months the trial proceedings of the case filed against the Prothom Alo editor.

The HC also issued a rule asking the state to explain in four weeks why the case proceedings against Matiur Rahman should not be scrapped.

The HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Atoar Rahman came up with the order and rule following a petition filed by Matiur seeking cancellation of the trial proceedings.

On November 12, a Dhaka court framed charges against Matiur and nine others in the case.

The lower court, however, discharged Prothom Alo Deputy Editor Anisul Hoque as it found no grounds to frame charges against him.

The other accused are Kishor Alo Head of Events and Activation Kabir Bakul, the youth magazine's events and activation assistants Shuvashish Pramanik Shuvo and Shah Paran Tushar, its Senior Assistant Editor Mahitul Alam Pavel, and stage decorators Jasim Uddin Topu, Mosharraf Hossain, Md Sujan and Kamrul Hawlader.

Matiur and eight others, now on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice after Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka read out the charges to them.

The court had earlier dismissed five other petitions submitted by their lawyers to discharge them from the case.

The court then fixed December 14 for starting the trial of the case.

Abrar's father Mojibur Rahman filed the case with the 4th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka on November 6.

In the complaint, Mojibur said his son was electrocuted and became unconscious around 4:30pm on November 1 while attending the programme.

Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Haque took the case into cognisance and ordered the OC of Mohammadpur Police Station to submit an investigation report.

On January 16 this year, Abdul Alim, inspector of Mohammadpur Police Station, submitted the probe report to the court, saying the charges brought against all 10 accused were found to be true.

Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaisarul Islam issued arrest warrants to Matiur and nine others in the case that day.

Matiur then got bail from the High Court while nine others got bails from different lower courts.

On September 20, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim ordered that the case be transferred to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court for trial.

On October 1, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court took cognisance of the charges against Matiur and nine others.