The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a High Court order that granted six months of bail to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in an arson case filed under the Special Powers Act in Cumilla.
A four-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order rejecting the petition filed by the state seeking a stay order on the HC order.
Earlier on Thursday, the Appellate Division fixed this day (Sunday) for delivering its order on the petition.
On August 6, the High Court granted 6-month bail to the BNP Chairperson following a bail petition in the arson case.
The next day, the government filed a petition seeking a stay order on the HC order.
Besides, earlier on July 23, the HC directed the Cumilla Special Judge Court-1 to dispose of the bail petition filed by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the same case within July 26.
Two days later on July 25, she had a bail petition filed by her lawyer with High Court as she was denied bail by the Cumilla court on that day, UNB reported.
According to the case statements, eight people were killed and 20 others injured when miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a bus at Jogmohanpur in Chouddagram of Cumilla district during the BNP-led alliance's movement on February 3, 2015. Two cases were filed, naming Khaleda, among others, in this connection.
BNP chief Khaleda is now behind bars, serving five years of rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case since February 8.
