United News of Bangladesh

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday upheld the bail granted by the High Court to former Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy in 10 cases, paving the way for her release. The Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, passed the order rejecting separate appeals filed by the state against the HC bail. With the apex court order, there is no legal bar to the release of Ivy, said her lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju. The High Court granted bail to Ivy in five of the cases on February 26 this year following separate bail petitions. The state filed petitions with the Appellate Division seeking stay on the High Court orders of bail. Following state’s petitions, the chamber judge of the Appellate Division on March 5 this year stayed the High Court orders and sent those petitions to the full bench for hearings. Of the cases, four are murder cases filed at Fatullah Police Station over the killings of bus driver Abul Hossain Mizi, Abdur Rahman, Md Yasin and Parvez during the July uprising. Another case was filed at Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station on charges of assault and obstructing public servants. The former NCC mayor was shown arrested in the five cases on November 9 last year, when she secured HC bail in five additional cases. The state moved the Appellate Division against the HC orders when the chamber judge on November 12 stayed the bail and sent the matter to the regular bench for hearing. Meanwhile, the High Cour on April 30 granted bail to the former NCC mayor in two other murder cases linked to the July uprising. The HC bench of Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher passed the order after hearing separate bail petitions. The cases were filed at Siddhirganj Police Station in Narayanganj on charges of killing Selim Mondal and Abdus Salam during the July 2024 uprising. Ivy was shown arrested in the cases on March 2 and April 12 this year. She was picked up in the early hours of May 9 last year from her residence ‘Chunka Kutir’ in Narayanganj city’s Deobhog area and later shown arrested in multiple cases.