The Supreme Court yesterday adjourned till today the hearing of an appeal filed against a High Court verdict that acquitted six former army personnel in the jail killing case.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of SC headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the order after a time prayer moved by Attorney General MahbubeyAlam.

The government filed the appeal with the apex court last year challenging the HC verdict in the case filed for killing four national leaders — Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, AHM Quamruzzaman and Captain Mansur Ali -- inside the Dhaka Central Jail on November 3,1975.

In November this year, the government submitted a statement to the SC, praying for upholding the lower court verdict that gave death penalty to three former army personnel and life term imprisonment to 12 others.

In 2004, the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka convicted and sentenced to death Risalder (retd) Muslemuddin, Dafadar (dismissed) Marfat Ali Shah and Dafadar (dismissed) Abdul Hashem Mridha for killing the leaders.

The court also awarded life-term imprisonment to Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda, Lt Col (dismissed) Khondaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (relieved) Shariful Haq Dalim, Lt Col (retd) SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Maj (Retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, Maj (relieved) Ahmed Shariful Hossain, Capt (retd) Abdul Majed, Capt (relieved) Kismat Hasem and Capt (relieved) Nazmul Hossain for abetting the killers.

On August 28,2008, the HC upheld the capital punishment of Muslemuddin and acquitted Marfat and Hashem. It also acquitted Farooq, Shahriar, Mohiuddin and Bazlul Huda, and did not say anything about the eight others who were given life term by the lower court.

On January27,2010, Farooq, Shahriar, Mohiuddin and Bazlul Huda were executed in the Bangabandhu assassination case.