The Supreme Court registrar yesterday ordered stays of execution of the death penalty of JMB military commander Ataur Rahman Sunny and Majlish-e-Shura member Abdul Awal following their special prayers through the jail authorities for leave to appeal.

The decision marks the end of the fevered speculations whether the militant kingpins would be executed within the term of the four-party alliance government.

Of the seven militants convicted of murder, six are behind bars while Arif, the other one, is still at large.

Although the convicts had earlier said they would not file any appeal with the worldly courts, they have grabbed at the opportunity to appeal against their sentences that were confirmed by the High Court on August 31.

Sunny and Awal submitted their prayers to the Dhaka Central Jail authorities on Monday, three days after expiry of the seven days' time since reading out of the death warrants to the convicts.

The jail authorities sent the prayers to the SC Registrar Fazlul Karim yesterday.

The SC registrar later sent separate letters to the home ministry, jail and the other authorities concerned, ordering postponement of the execution.

He told The Daily Star yesterday that he had passed on to the authorities concerned the administrative orders staying execution like he did in cases of the condemned JMB Chief Abdur Rahman, Majlish-e-Shura member Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, Khaled Saifullah and suicide bomber Iftekhar al Mamun.

Supreme Court officials said that in line with the apex court practices, the execution of the death penalty was temporarily stalled, pending the acceptance of the petitions for hearing by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

"Though four of the six appeals were not filed using the prescribed forms, it is up to the highest court whether it would accept the petitions or not," said Deputy Attorney General Helal Uddin Molla, who stood for the state in the case in the High Court.

Senior assistant judges Jagannath Pandey and Sohel Ahmed were killed in a suicide bomb attack at Purba Chadkati in Jhalakathi town on November 14 last year in the wake of a series of violent militant attacks across the country.

Additional District and Sessions Judge of Jhalakathi Reza Tarik Ahmed on May 29 awarded death sentences to Rahman, Bangla Bhai, Sunny, Awal, Khaled Saifullah, Mamun and Asadul Islam alias Arif.