The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the suspension of the six-month bail granted by the High Court to Sohel Rana, owner of the Rana Plaza building, in the case related to the casualties from the building’s collapse near the Savar bus stand in Dhaka in 2013.
The High Court has also been instructed to resolve the rule issued on his bail within two months.
The Appellate Division Bench, led by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, issued this order in response to a state petition.
Additional Attorney General Arshadur Rauf represented the state, while lawyer Shishir Monir appeared on behalf of Sohel Rana in court.
Previously, on October 1, a High Court Bench composed of Justice Md. Ataur Rahman Khan and Justice KM Hafizul Alam had granted bail to Sohel Rana and issued a rule in his favour. The state later appealed to the Appellate Division for a suspension of this bail. On October 2, the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division suspended the bail and referred the case to the full bench for a hearing, which took place today.
On April 6, 2023, the High Court Bench of Justice Md. Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Shahed Nuruddin granted bail to Rana by approving the rule on his bail. The state then applied for a suspension of the bail, and on April 9, the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division suspended his bail until May 8 and scheduled a hearing for the regular bench.
Then, on May 8, the Appellate Division set a hearing for July 10, extending the suspension of the bail. On July 10, the hearing was postponed by six months. Consequently, the matter was taken up for a hearing on January 15 this year.
On January 15, the Appellate Division, led by former Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, instructed the judicial court to resolve within six months the case filed against the building owner and factory owners involved in the incident. However, as the case was not resolved within this period, Rana reapplied for bail.
On April 24, 2013, the 10-storey Rana Plaza building near Savar bus stand collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 1,136 people. Five days later, on April 29, Sohel Rana was apprehended at Benapole in Jessore while attempting to flee to India.