The High Court yesterday stayed for six months the trial proceedings of a case filed against Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman over the death of Dhaka Residential Model College student Naimul Abrar Rahat.

The court also issued a rule asking the state to explain in four weeks why the case proceedings against Matiur Rahman should not be scrapped.

The HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Atoar Rahman came up with the order and rule following a petition filed by Matiur Rahman seeking the cancellation of trial proceedings.

Lawyers Rokanuddin Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman Khan appeared for Matiur Rahman while Deputy Attorney General Saifuddin Khaled represented the state during the virtual hearing of the petition.

Mustafizur Rahman Khan told The Daily Star that the HC issued the stay order and rule after hearing the argument that Matiur Rahman was not present at the venue where Abrar, a ninth-grader, was electrocuted during the anniversary programme of Prothom Alo's youth magazine Kishor Alo on November 1 last year.

Matiur Rahman was neither involved in electricity supply management for the occasion nor appointment of the contractor for electricity management, and therefore there were no elements for framing charges against him in the case, the lawyer added.

Meanwhile, DAG Saifuddin Khaled told this correspondent that he does not know whether the government will move any appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the stay order.

On November 12 this year, a Dhaka court framed charges against Matiur Rahman and nine others in the case filed over Abrar's death.

The lower court, however, discharged Prothom Alo Deputy Editor Anisul Hoque as it found no grounds to frame charges against him.

The other accused are Kishor Alo Head of Events and Activation Kabir Bakul, the youth magazine's Events and Activation Assistants Shuvashish Pramanik Shuvo and Shah Paran Tushar, its Senior Assistant Editor Mahitul Alam Pavel, and stage decorators Jasim Uddin Topu, Mosharraf Hossain, Md Sujan and Kamrul Hawlader.

Matiur and eight others, now on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice after Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka read out the charges to them.

The court had earlier dismissed five other petitions submitted by their lawyers to discharge them from the case.

The court then fixed December 14 for starting the trial of the case.

Abrar's father Mojibur Rahman filed the case with the Fourth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka on November 6.

In the complaint, Mojibur said his son was electrocuted and became unconscious around 4:30pm on November 1 while attending the programme.

Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Haque took the case into cognisance and ordered the OC of Mohammadpur Police Station to submit an investigation report.

On January 16 this year, Abdul Alim, inspector of Mohammadpur Police Station, submitted the probe report to the court, saying the charges brought against all 10 accused were found to be true.

Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaisarul Islam issued arrest warrants against Matiur Rahman and nine others in the case that day.

Following the arrest warrants, Matiur Rahman got bail from the High Court while nine others got bails from different lower courts.

On September 20, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim ordered that the case be transferred to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court for trial.

On October 1, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court took cognisance of the charges against Matiur Rahman and nine others in the case.