The ruling will determine the fate of those sentenced to death and life imprisonment for one of the country’s deadliest terrorist attacks during a Bengali New Year celebration.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the High Court bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akhter. Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the defendants during the hearings, which concluded on February 18.

According to court and Attorney General’s Office sources, the death references and appeals of eight convicts had been pending across multiple benches of the High Court, but the case remained unresolved until now.

Background of the Case

The attack took place on April 14, 2001, during Pahela Baishakh celebrations at Ramna Batamul, killing 10 people and injuring many more. Nine victims died at the scene, including Al-Mamun Hossain, Riazul Islam, Jannatul Ferdous Shipi, Abul Kalam Azad, Mohammad Jasim Uddin, Mohammad Emran Hossain, Ashim Chandra Sarker, Ismail Hossain Swapan, and Ansar Ali. One victim remains unidentified.

Following the attack, a murder case was filed with Ramna Police Station. In a major breakthrough in 2006, key suspect Mufti Abdul Hannan confessed under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The case gained momentum during the military-backed caretaker government’s tenure. On November 29, 2008, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted two charge sheets — one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act — implicating 14 accused.

In a landmark verdict on June 23, 2014, the court sentenced eight members of the banned militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), including its chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, to death. Six others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Convicted Individuals

Sentenced to death: Mufti Abdul Hannan (executed in a separate case involving an attack on the former British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury), Maulana Akbar Hossain alias Helal Uddin, Arif Hasan alias Suman alias Abdur Razzak, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Hafez Selim Hawlader, Maulana Tajuddin (brother of former state minister Abdus Salam Pintu), Hafez Jahangir Alam alias Ustad Jahangir Badr.

Of these, four are in custody, while the others remain fugitives.

Sentenced to life imprisonment: Hafez Abu Taher, Maulana Sabbir alias Abdul Hannan, Hafez Yahia, Maulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Maulana Abdur Rauf, Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel.

Several of the convicted individuals later filed appeals challenging their sentences, which are now under final review by the High Court.

This long-delayed verdict is expected to bring closure to a case that shocked the nation and left a lasting scar on the country’s cultural and social landscape.