The Chamber Judge Court has withdrawn the order suspending the bail of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in a sedition case. The court has scheduled a hearing on the suspension petition for Sunday, May 4, when it will listen to the arguments of Chinmoy’s lawyer.
Earlier in the day, the High Court granted bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das in the sedition case. The bench of Justice Md. Ataur Rahman and Justice Md. Ali Reza declared the rule regarding his bail as proper and passed the order.
Lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya represented Chinmoy in court, while Barrister Anik R Haque and Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan appeared for the state.
Later the same day, the state applied to the Chamber Judge Court to suspend the High Court’s bail order. Following a hearing, Chamber Justice Md. Rezaul Haque issued a temporary suspension of the bail order until a certified copy of the High Court ruling is released and a regular leave-to-appeal is filed.
On October 25, 2024, Chinmoy led a large religious rally of the Sanatan community in Chattogram. A sedition case was filed against him on October 31, accusing him of desecrating the national flag. Eighteen others were also named in the case.
Subsequently, on November 22, 2024, Chinmoy held another major rally in Rangpur. He was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 and sent to jail the next day after a Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate rejected his bail plea.
A violent clash occurred outside the Chattogram court premises that day between Chinmoy’s followers and law enforcement officers, resulting in the fatal stabbing of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif. Since then, Chinmoy has remained in jail.
On January 2, 2025, the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court rejected another bail plea, after which Chinmoy appealed to the High Court. On February 4, the High Court issued a rule asking why Chinmoy should not be granted bail, giving the state two weeks to respond.