Nearly 15 months after she was detained, student of Jagannath University (JnU) Khadijatul Kubra has finally received bail from the apex court in two separate cases filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld a High Court’s order that granted bail to student of Jagannath University (JnU) Khadijatul Kubra in two separate cases filed under the abolished Digital Security Act (DSA).
The full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, issued the order on Thursday (November 16), dismissing two separate petitions filed by the state that challenged the HC bail.
BM Elias Kachi and Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua moved for the JnU student in the court. Following the apex court’s order, there is no legal bar for Khadija to get released from the jail, said BM Elias Kachi.
Earlier in February, the High Court granted Khadija’s bail plea, but it was suspended by the chamber judge and sent for Appellate Division’s review. The leave to appeal filed by the state challenging her bail order was also sent for hearing to the regular bench of the Appellate Division.
Meanwhile, Khadija filed an application seeking the withdrawal of the suspension order given by the Chamber Court, which was heard in the Appellate Division on July 10 along with the state’s petition. On that day, the Appellate Division stayed the hearing of the application for four months.
In October 2020, police filed two cases against Khadija and Major (retired) Delowar Hossain with Kalabagan police station and New Market police station for spreading anti-government propaganda and harming Bangladesh’s reputation.
The allegations in the two cases filed a week apart, were similar. Police arrested Khadija on September 17 in 2022. She has been imprisoned since then.
According to the case statement, Khadija and Delowar conspired to broadcast false, fabricated, and defamatory propaganda about the prime minister, various government agencies, and senior state officials in order to oust the country's legitimate administration. They were aiming to destroy communal harmony through their conspiracy by promoting enmity, hatred, and division among various communities, it said.
Khadija was 17 when the cases were filed under the Digital Security Act in 2020, but the case was filed showing her as an adult, according to her lawyer.
Despite having kidney disease, Khadija’s bail petitions were repeatedly denied by a Dhaka court.
