A special bench of the High Court, which was formed on Sunday, will hear appeals and death reference in the BDR carnage case on January 18.
The bench comprising judges Md Shawkat Hossain, Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Mustafa Zaman Islam fixed the date yesterday.
The appeals and death reference were in yesterday’s cause list of the bench. However, it could not be heard since the case was not fully ready. According to the superintendent of the relevant section of the High Court, it would need 10 more days.
The case is likely to be heard at court number nine of the main High Court building. A defence lawyer yesterday requested the court to hold the hearing at court number 24 instead.
He said many lawyers would come to court during the hearing and so it would be difficult to accommodate them in such a small room.
The lawyer also sought a month to begin the hearing saying that there were many appeals in the case.
The bench assured him of taking up his request about the courtroom with the authorities concerned and consider whether the hearing could be delayed.
Deputy Attorney General Mosharrof Hossain Sarder represented the state.
Supreme Court Registrar SM Kuddus Jaman told the Dhaka Tribune that Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain formed the special court for swift hearing of the case.
In an unprecedented verdict on November 5, 2013, a Dhaka court sentenced 151 former BDR (now BGB) members and at least one civilian to death for killing 57 army officers and 17 civilians during a mutiny in the paramilitary force’s Pilkhana headquarters on February 25-26, 2009. The court also awarded life term jail sentences to 161 accused for their involvement in inciting and conspiring the mutiny.