HC grants SQ Chy, Pintu, Hashem bail

Trackback URL

Download PDF

The High Court (HC) yesterday granted ad-interim bail for one month to three detained former BNP lawmakers — SQ Chowdhury, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and MA Hashem — in separate corruption cases filed by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC).

After hearing separate petitions, an HC bench comprising Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader and Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad stayed the case proceedings against the three for a month, and also issued separate rules upon the government and the ACC to explain within four weeks why the case proceedings against the three should not be quashed.

ACC lawyers said the HC granted the bail to SQ Chowdhury, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and MA Hashem on grounds that investigation reports in the cases had not been submitted within the stipulated 60 days of case filings and because the filings are deemed marred with procedural flaws by the court.

Defence counsels said SQ Chowdhury and Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu cannot be released immediately since there are multiple other cases pending against them.

Barrister Rafique-ul Huq said MA Hashem, who is also the chairman of Partex Group, might come out of detention soon, as there is no other case against him.

Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan, one of the ACC lawyers, yesterday told The Daily Star that the commission will soon file appeals with the Supreme Court (SC) against the HC bail orders.

The same HC bench yesterday extended till July 31 the anticipatory bail of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka which it had granted him earlier in a case filed against him for illegally amassing wealth worth Tk 9.76 crore, and for giving false information to the ACC about his wealth.

The bench, upon separate quashment petitions, also stayed for a month the proceedings of corruption cases against former BNP lawmaker MAH Salim, and Dr Taslima Ahmed Zaman, daughter of Awami League Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed.

The court also issued a ruling upon the government to explain within four weeks why the proceedings against the two should not be quashed.

On June 13 last year, the ACC filed the case against SQ Chowdhury, parliamentary affairs adviser to detained former premier Khaleda Zia, for concealing information about his wealth of over Tk 1.17 crore in the statement he had submitted to the ACC on February 25.

The case against Pintu was also filed on June 13 last year by ACC Assistant Director Nurul Alam, in which Pintu’s wife Nasima Akhter was also implicated for concealing wealth of over Tk 21.88 crore in their wealth statements submitted to the ACC earlier.

The case against MA Hashem was filed by ACC Deputy Director Manjur Ahmed on December 5, 2007 for illegally accumulating property worth Tk 19.81 crore, in which Hashem’s wife Sultana Hashem was also implicated.

The case against Khoka, his wife Ishmat Ara, son Ishrak and daughter Sarika was also filed by ACC on April 2 this year, for accumulating wealth worth over Tk 17.57 crore beyond Khoka’s known sources of income and for concealing information about the wealth.

On July 1, ACC Assistant Director Shamsul Alam, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court a charge sheet against Khoka showing 45 people as prosecution witnesses. Khoka’s wife and children were also granted bail earlier.

ACC Assistant Director Ali Akbar, on December 6, 2007, filed with Ramna police station the case against MAH Salim, his wife Amena Begum, their daughter Shahara Salim and son Mehedi Hasan for amassing wealth illegally.

In the first information report, the complainant said Salim concealed information about his property worth Tk 12.38 crore in the wealth statement submitted to the ACC, and accumulated Tk 62.96 crore illegally.

On May 29, ACC Deputy Director Golam Shahrier Chowdhury filed with Ramna police station a case against former minister Tofail Ahmed for amassing Tk 2.45 crore wealth which is not corroborated by his known sources of income, and for concealing information about Tk 1.86 crore in his wealth statement submitted to the ACC. His wife and daughter were also charged for abetting him.

SQ Chowdhury, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and MA Hashem recently filed separate petitions with the HC for quashing the proceedings of the cases against them.

Earlier on July 7, the same HC bench granted Khoka anticipatory bail in the case against him and stayed the proceedings until July 16 following a writ petition for quashing the case.

Khoka filed the petition for extending the tenure of the earlier HC order yesterday.

The HC following a bail petition on June 2 this year granted anticipatory bail of four months to Tofail Ahmed’s daughter Dr Taslima Ahmed Zaman.

SQ Chowdhury, Khoka, Pintu, Hashem, and Salim were represented by Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, while Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Advocate Abdul Baset Majumder and Advocate Sheikh Awasafur Rahman represented Dr Taslima.

Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan and Moazzem Hossain represented the ACC.

Leave a Reply