The Supreme Court today stayed for six months a High Court verdict that granted bail to Sohel Rana, owner of Rana Plaza, in a murder case.
Rana Plaza collapsed and caused the deaths of at least 1,135 people in April, 2013.
The Appellate Division of the SC also kept stand over (waiting for hearing) a petition filed by the state challenging the HC verdict.
A full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after a brief hearing on the petition.
The HC judgement that granted bail to Sohel Rana will remain halted following the apex court order, his lawyer Md Quamrul Islam told.
Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappy represented the state.
On April 6, the HC 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, 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.
