Graft Suspects: 26 appeals still await disposal

The High Court has disposed of only one of the 27 appeals filed by graft suspects against their convictions during the past caretaker government although the Appellate Division had ordered the HC around two years ago to expeditiously settle the pleas through rehearing.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court came up with the orders after scrapping the verdicts delivered by the HC acquitting the accused of graft charges.

The HC cleared around 35 people, including Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and former BNP minister Nazmul Huda, in 27 cases.

According to the Appellate Division orders, the HC needs to hear the appeals afresh. 

The HC so far has disposed of only one appeal. On May 17 this year, it upheld its earlier verdict acquitting former BNP lawmaker Monjurul Ahsan Munshi of charges related to acquiring wealth illegally and concealing information of his property.

He had been sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment.

Talking to The Daily Star on Saturday, Khurshid Alam Khan, lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Commission, said the ACC would file an appeal with the Appellate Division against the HC verdict that acquitted Monjurul.

“We will take decision about the other appeals later,” he said.

Earlier, Khurshid had told this correspondent that the HC could not hold rehearing of 26 appeals as its benches concerned were overburdened with other cases and some relevant documents were not produced before them on time.

The ACC had filed the cases during the regime of the military-backed caretaker government in 2007-2008 against the accused on charges of amassing illegal wealth and concealing information about it.

Several trial courts had convicted and sentenced the accused to different jail terms. But they were cleared by the HC from 2009 through 2011 upon their appeals.

The ACC then filed leave to appeal petitions with the Appellate Division challenging the HC verdicts. The petitions were filed from 2009 through 2012.

Subsequently, the apex court in 2014 and 2015 scrapped the HC verdicts and ordered it to expeditiously rehear the appeals for final disposals, said Khurshid Alam.    

Some of the 26 appeals are now pending before the HC for rehearing, he added.

The Appellate Division had cancelled the acquittals of the accused, considering that the HC verdicts on their appeals were not correct, since it didn't properly consider the relevant evidence and corruption allegations brought against them.

“It [High Court] did not at all assess the evidence on record although the special judge on assessment of the evidence convicted the respondent [Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya],” the apex court said in its full verdict on the ACC's petition against the HC verdict that cleared Maya.

The ACC counsel said the HC acquitted the graft accused in light of a Supreme Court judgment that acquitted former Awami League minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir in a similar case.

Khurshid said the SC had acquitted Alamgir, declaring illegal a 2007 ACC notice that asked him to submit a wealth statement. There were no ACC commissioners at that time and Alamgir was in jail.

Among the other corruption accused are Nazmul Huda's wife Sigma Huda; former BNP state ministers Iqbal Hasan Mahmood Tuku and Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin and the latter's son Mir Helal Uddin; ruling Awami League lawmaker Haji Mohammad Selim; former BNP state minister Amanullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman; former AL lawmaker Joynal Abedin Hazari; ex-BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim and his wife Mafruza Sultana; former AL lawmaker Mockbul Hossain and his wife Fatema Tahera Khanam, the ACC lawyer added.