The High Court on Monday granted six months of interim bail to Sadddam, a local leader of the banned Chhatra League, in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Sadddam, whose real name is Jewel Hasan, served as president of the Bagerhat Sadar Upazila unit of the organisation.
The order was issued by a High Court bench comprising Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan after hearing a bail petition filed on his behalf. The court also issued a rule asking the authorities to explain why he should not be granted regular bail in the case.
Sadddam is currently incarcerated at Jessore District Jail. On January 23, police recovered the hanging body of his wife, Kaniz Suborna (22), from their residence in Sabekdanga village of Bagerhat Sadar Upazila. The body of their nine-month-old son, Sejad Hasan, was also found lifeless at the scene.
The following day, the bodies were taken to Jessore Central Jail, where Sadddam was allowed to see his wife and child for the final time at the prison gate. Videos of the incident later circulated on social media, triggering widespread public criticism. Several human rights organisations questioned why Sadddam was not released on parole to attend the funeral rites of his wife and child.
Court records show that Sadddam had previously secured bail in six separate cases. After his bail plea was rejected by a lower court in the present Anti-Terrorism Act case, his legal team moved the High Court last week. The petition was listed as item number 188 on Monday’s cause list.
Senior advocate Saeed Ahmed Raja represented the petitioner during the hearing, while the state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Sultana Akhtar Ruby and Mohammad Fazlul Karim Mondal.
Speaking after the hearing, senior advocate Saeed Ahmed stated that Sadddam was initially arrested on April 5, 2025, in connection with an Anti-Terrorism Act case in which his name did not appear in the first information report (FIR). Although he later obtained bail in that case, he was repeatedly shown arrested in new cases each time bail orders reached the prison authorities.
According to the defence, Sadddam has received bail in six such cases. However, on December 18 last year, he was shown arrested in the current Anti-Terrorism Act case, which marked the seventh case against him.
The defence further claimed that the case was filed in Bagerhat in March 2025 and named 38 accused individuals, but Sadddam’s name was not included in the FIR. Despite this, he was arrested under the case.
The High Court granted interim bail for six months and issued a rule seeking clarification on why Sadddam should not be granted regular bail. The defence said the court considered humanitarian grounds while passing the order.
