Appellate Court approves postponement of Sohel Rana’s bail

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the six-month stay of bail granted by the Supreme Court to Sohel Rana, the owner of Rana Plaza building, in the case related to losses incurred due to the collapse of the building near Savar bus stand. In Dhaka in 2013.

The High Court was also directed to resolve the order granting bail to the accused within two months.

The Appellate Division Bench headed by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam issued this order in response to the state’s petition.

While Additional Solicitor General Arshadur Rauf represented the state, advocate Shishir Monir appeared in court on behalf of Sohel Rana.

Earlier, on October 1, Judge Md. The Supreme Court Bench comprising Ataur Rahman Khan and Justice KM Hafizul Alam had granted bail to Sohel Rana and passed an order in his favour. The State then appealed to the Appellate Division to suspend that bail. On October 2, the Appellate Division Circuit Judge suspended bail and referred the case to the full bench for a hearing today.

On April 6, 2023, the Supreme Court Court of Justice Art. Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Shahed Nuruddin approved the bail rule and ordered Rana to be released on bail. The State then applied for a stay of bail, and on April 9, the Appellate Division Circuit Judge suspended his bail until May 8 and scheduled a regular bench hearing.

Then, on May 8, the Appeals Chamber scheduled a hearing for July 10 to extend the bail suspension. The hearing on July 10 was postponed for six months. As a result, the matter came up for hearing on January 15 this year.

On January 15, the Appellate Bench led by former Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan directed the judicial court to decide the case filed against the building owner and factory owners involved in the incident within six months. However, as the case was not concluded within this period, Rana applied for bail again.

On April 24, 2013, 1,136 people lost their lives as a result of the collapse of the 10-storey Rana Plaza building near Savar bus stop. Five days later, on April 29, Sohel Rana was captured at Benapole in Jessore while trying to escape to India.