Dhaka: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed three leave-to-appeal petitions filed by the state for increasing the punishment of some convicts and scrapping the acquittal of some others in the Pilkhana BDR mutiny case.

A three-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the order after hearing the petitions.

In its observation, the apex court said as the High Court is due to deliver its verdict on the death reference and the appeals filed by the convicts, it will not be right for the SC to interfere in the case.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state while Advocate Aminul Islam argued for the convicts.

On April 13 last, a-three member special bench of the High Court concluded the hearing on the death reference and the appeals of 152 convicts filed against the death penalty in the Pilkhana BDR mutiny case and kept the judgment on curia advisari vult.

The bench also turned down the three petitions filed by the state to increase the punishment of convicts.

Later, the state moved the SC challenging the HC order.

In the appeals, highest punishment was sought for 158 convicts who were awarded life sentence by the lower court while punishment for 194 others who were acquitted.

Besides, the state appealed for increasing the punishment of 237 convicts who were sentenced to different terms.

A Dhaka court, on November 5, 2013, sentenced 152 soldiers of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles and two civilians to death, and 161 others to life imprisonment for their involvement in the BDR mutiny.

A total of 257 appeals were filed with the High Court against the lower court verdict.

Seventy-four people, including 57 army officials, were killed in the BDR mutiny on February 25-26 in 2009 at the Pilkhana headquarters inDhaka.

The paramilitary force was later renamed Border Guard Bangladesh.