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Download PDF The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday stayed a High Court (HC) order granting bail to former premier Sheikh Hasina in a Tk 3 crore graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Full bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Ruhul Amin also stayed the HC ruling that halted the case proceedings. It directed the parties involved to have the HC rule in this regard disposed of.
The SC orders came in response to an appeal by the anti-graft body.
Earlier on November 4, an HC bench granted bail to Hasina and stayed proceedings of the case. It also issued a rule on the government and the ACC, asking them to explain within eight weeks why bringing the case under the ambit of emergency rules should not be adjudged illegal.
ACC Deputy Director MM Sabbir Hasan filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station on September 2 alleging that detained Awami League (AL) President Hasina and six others had helped a foreign company and its local partners win a contract for setting up a 100-megawatt barge-mount power plant for Tk 3 crore in kickbacks.
The other accused are former energy secretary Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, former Power Development Board (PDB) chairman Noor Uddin Mahmud Kamal, Managing Director of Summit Industries and Mercantile Corporation Private Ltd Aziz Khan, its Director Farid Khan, United Group Chairman Hasan Mahmud Raja, and its Director Abul Kalam Azad.
According to case documents, Wartsila Power Development Ltd Consortium and its local partners Summit Group and United Group had allegedly bribed the then prime minister between October 7 and November 24 in 1997.
The AL chief filed a writ petition with the HC on October 28 challenging legality of the government’s bringing the case under the emergency power rules. She also prayed for bail.
Barrister Rafique-ul Huq moved for Hasina while Habibul Islam Bhuiyan for the ACC. Attorney General Fida M Kamal stood for the state.
Hasina was arrested on July 16 in connection with an extortion case filed by Azam J Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Private Trading Ltd, also a power company.
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