The Supreme Court has stayed for six months a High Court verdict that granted bail to Sohel Rana, owner of Rana Plaza, in a murder case.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court also kept stand-over (waiting for hearing) a petition filed by the state challenging the High Court verdict.
A full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique issued the order on Monday (July 10) after a brief hearing on the petition.
The HC judgement that granted bail to Sohel Rana will remain halted following the apex court order, said Md Quamrul Islam, lawyer of Sohel Rana.
Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappy represented the state.
On April 6, the High Court granted bail to Sohel Rana in the case.
At least 1,135 people, mostly garment workers, were killed and over 2,500 others injured as the nine-storey building came crashing down in Savar on April 24 in 2013, raising questions about labour and human rights standards in Bangladesh.
Hours after the disaster, Wali Ashraf, a sub-inspector of Savar Police Station, had filed the murder case against building owner Sohel Rana, his father and several others.
The Criminal Investigation Department of police on May 24, 2015 pressed charges against Sohel Rana and 41 others in the murder case.
On July 18, 2016, the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge's Court framed charges against the 41 accused, including Sohel Rana, also a former Jubo League leader.
