During the recent bail hearing, a group of 11 Supreme Court lawyers appeared to argue on behalf of Chinmoy Krishna Das. However, this was not the first attempt to secure bail. Earlier hearings were delayed as his legal team faced severe threats.
Dhaka: January 2: A Chattogram court has denied bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former ISKCON leader. This decision has sparked widespread criticism, with former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Veena Sikri, expressing her disappointment and calling it a “travesty of justice.”
During the recent bail hearing, a group of 11 Supreme Court lawyers appeared to argue on behalf of Chinmoy Krishna Das. However, this was not the first attempt to secure bail. Earlier hearings were delayed as his legal team faced severe threats.
According to reports, on December 3, 2024, a court in Chittagong scheduled January 2 for the bail hearing. This delay came after the prosecution requested additional time, and no lawyer was available to represent the monk at that time.
Veena Sikri raised her concerns about the lack of evidence in the sedition charges against Chinmoy Krishna Das.
She told Media, “Well, I think it’s very sad. It’s tragic. It’s a travesty of justice that Chinmoy Krishna Das had been once again denied bail. And you know, even the reason for his arrest, they’ve charged him with sedition, but there’s no evidence that has been given. They are talking about some rally on October 25, but there’s no evidence to show… A case was filed in the Chattogram court and Chinmoy Das was arrested at Dhaka Airport and then taken to Chattogram. At that time, bail was denied which was very unusual and there was a huge clash between the lawyers and the supporters in the court and a lawyer died in that.”
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Sikri added, “…Professor Muhammad Yunus didn’t even talk about the case of Chinmoy Das. He just spoke about a lawyer who had died and that was all he was expressing his concern about. So it is very tragic and very unfortunate and against all the canons of national justice, all the canons of humanitarian aspects. What is happening in Bangladesh today with the minorities is really beyond belief.”
She also criticized the legal process, pointing out procedural lapses during earlier hearings.
“When the bail hearing came for the first time, there was no lawyer from the side of Chinmoy Krishna, and so the hearing was adjourned and postponed January 2, but under any normal justice system and as provided for in the law system in Bangladesh and India, and many other countries, if Chinmoy Krishna doesn’t have a lawyer of his own, the state has to provide a lawyer. The hearing must go on, but they didn’t provide. Then today, I believe some 11 Supreme Court lawyers came to defend him, but again bail has been denied and so far, we have no reason why bail has been denied.”
Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdeva also criticized the rejection of Chinmoy’s bail plea, suggesting that the judiciary might be influenced by government pressure or biased against Hindu minorities.
He stated, “It seems like the Bangladesh judiciary is systematically working on the instructions of the government or the assumptions that elements of Hindu minorities and cases against them have to be dealt with in a certain way. The charges against Chinmoy are not serious. He deserves bail… It seems that the judiciary is adhering to the ideologies of a new Bangladesh where they want to make Islam the primary religion, primary culture in the country.”
Earlier, the bail application was heard for about 30 minutes by Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam. The prosecution, represented by Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Advocate Mofizur Haque Bhuiyan, argued against granting bail, leading to its denial despite the efforts of 11 Supreme Court lawyers present to defend Chinmoy Krishna Das.
BRIEF FACTS
The controversy began when sedition charges were filed against Chinmoy Krishna Das for allegedly raising a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally in Chittagong on October 25. His arrest on November 25 triggered protests, culminating in violent clashes outside the Chattogram Court Building on November 27, where a lawyer lost his life.
ISKCON Kolkata reported further arrests following the incident. Two monks, Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari, were detained on November 29 after visiting Chinmoy in custody. The organization’s Vice President, Radha Raman, claimed that rioters vandalized an ISKCON center in Bangladesh during the unrest.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has expressed its concerns over the situation, emphasizing the increasing violence and extremist rhetoric in Bangladesh. It reiterated that the issue of targeted attacks on minorities has been consistently raised with Dhaka.
As tensions continue to rise, questions remain about the fairness and transparency of the judicial proceedings in cases involving minorities in Bangladesh.
