The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday (December 21) upheld a High Court order that directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to accept and dispose of the bail petitions of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in connection with 10 cases. 
 
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the SC, passed the order following a petition filed by the state challenging the HC order. 
 
The Chamber Judge also sent the petition to its full bench and fixed January 15 to hear in this regard. 
 
Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin, A M Mahbub Uddin Khokan, and Advocate Sagir Hossain Leon appeared in the court on behalf of Mirza Fakhrul, while Attorney General A M Amin Uddin, Deputy Attorney General Md Sarwar Hossain and Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state. 
 
Eleven cases were filed at Paltan and Ramna police stations on charges of vandalism and attack on the Chief Justice's residence during a BNP rally on October 28. 
 
Of them, the High Court issued a rule asking the government to explain why Fakhrul should not be granted bail in a case filed over the attack on the Chief Justice's residence. 
 
He sought bail in the remaining 10 cases. But on December 12, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court of Dhaka rejected the bail petitions. 
 
Later, a writ petition was filed with the HC on December 14. 
 
Following the petition, a High Court bench on December 18 directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Courts in Dhaka to accept and dispose of the bail petitions of the BNP Secretary General in the nine cases as Mirza Fakhrul was arrested in one of the cases filed with Paltan police. 
 
The BNP secretary general was arrested in a case on October 29. 
 
Later, a bail petition was filed with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka. The court sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition.

BDST: 2134 HRS, DEC 21, 2023
MSK