Bangladesh Supreme Court stays HC order granting bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das in sedition case

Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the state counsel hours after the High Court granted him bail.

The stay order will remain in force until the filing of a leave-to-appeal petition and release of the full text of the verdict.

Additional Attorney General Barrister Anik R Haque represented the state.

Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh High Court granted bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in a sedition case.

The order was passed by the bench of Justice Md Atoar Rahman and Justice Md Ali Reza after hearing the former  International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) leader's bail petition.

Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25.

Firoz Khan, former general secretary of Chattogram's Mohora ward BNP, filed the case with Kotwali Police Station on October 31, where he accused Das and  18 others of disrespecting the national flag during a rally on October 25.

A Chittagong court sent him to jail on November 26 by rejecting his bail plea.

His arrest led to massive protests by the minority Hindu community in the South Asian nation which witnessed a political turmoil ever since former PM Sheikh Hasina escaped to India amid widespread violent protests against her government.

India had earlier expressed deep concern over the arrest of the Hindu leader.

Bangladesh has witnessed rising cases of attacks on Hindus ever since the Hasina-led government toppled the Muslim-majority nation.