In a significant legal development, eleven Supreme Court lawyers, led by advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, are set to participate in the bail hearing of former ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case related to alleged disrespect for Bangladesh’s national flag. The hearing will take place on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at the Chittagong court, as reported by The Daily Star.
“We have come to Chattogram under the banner of Ainjibi Oikya Parishad, and we will move for Chinmoy in the court for his bail. I already got the Vakalatnama from Chinmoy. I’m a member of both the Supreme Court and Chattogram Bar associations, so I don’t need authorisation from any local lawyer to move the case,” said Bhattacharjee in a statement to The Daily Star.
The case revolves around sedition charges filed against Chinmoy Krishna Das after allegations that he raised a saffron flag above the national flag of Bangladesh in Chittagong on October 25, 2024. His arrest on November 25 sparked violent protests, leading to clashes between his supporters and law enforcement outside the Chattogram Court Building on November 27, resulting in the death of a lawyer.
Further escalating the situation, two monks from ISKCON Kolkata, Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari, were detained on November 29 after visiting Chinmoy Krishna Das in custody. ISKCON’s Vice President, Radha Raman, also claimed that rioters vandalised an ISKCON center in Bangladesh during the unrest.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India expressed concern over the rising violence and extremist rhetoric in Bangladesh, stressing that it has continuously raised the issue of targeted attacks on religious minorities with the Bangladeshi government.
In a December 2024 open letter, Veena Sikri, the former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, highlighted Chinmoy Krishna Das’s advocacy for religious minorities in Bangladesh. Sikri’s letter stated: “Chinmoy Krishna Das, formerly with the globally renowned ISKCON, together with his colleagues in the Sanatani Jagran Jote, put forward an 8-point demand on behalf of the religious minorities of Bangladesh, seeking the enactment of a minority protection law in Bangladesh, with a ministry for the protection of minorities, a special tribunal for trial of cases of minority persecution, including compensation and rehabilitation of victims, a law to recover and protect temples (Debottar), proper enforcement of the Vested Property Return Act, and enhancement of the existing (separate) Hindu, Buddhist and Christian Welfare Trusts to Foundations.”
This legal and political turmoil underscores the ongoing tensions surrounding religious freedoms and the protection of minorities in Bangladesh. The outcome of today’s bail hearing will be closely followed, as it has the potential to influence the broader discourse on religious rights and justice in the region.