High Court
Graft case against Tarique, Zubaida: HC asks trial court to dispose of case soon
The High court on Sunday ordered the judicial court to dispose of as soon as possible the case against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida in a graft case filed by anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo also rejected the couple's writ petitions challenging the corruption case against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing wealth in their affidavits.
Read: Verdict on Tarique-Zubaida’s whereabouts on June 26
Khurshid Alam Khan, ACC lawyer said Tarique Rahman is a fugitive convict. So no lawyers can fight on behalf of him.
Besides, the Appellate Division recently declared Zubaida as a fugitive.
As both of them remained fugitive, the court rejected the writ petitions of the duo saying these are not acceptable, he said.
The court also withdrew the stay order on the trial proceedings of the case filed against them.
It also asked to send the documents of the case to the judicial court within 10 days and dispose of it soon.
On June 19, the High Court fixed June 26 for hearing the three writ petitions.
Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali stood for the petitioners while Advocate Khurshid Alam and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the ACC and state respectively.
Read: HC defers Tarique-Zubaida’s hearing in corruption case
On September 26, 2007, the ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul Police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth of Tk 4.81 crore and concealing the information.
In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.
On April 12, 2017, the HC rejected the rule and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks.
HC grants 6 months bail to accused Sylhet cop in custodial death case
The High Court granted six months bail to the suspended sub-inspector of police Md Hasan Uddin, one of the accused in the murder case of Rayhan Ahmed in police custody.
HC bench of Justice SM Abdul Mobin and Justice Md Atwar Rahman passed the order on Sunday.
Also read: Raihan’s custodial death: Trial of ex-SI Akbar, 5 others from May 10
Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kazal and Abdul Alim Bhuiyan Jewel appeared for the accused while Deputy Attorney General Sujit Chatterjee represented the state during the hearing.
On April 18, the official trial in the case began with the Sylhet Metropolitan Session Judge Court Judge MD Abdur Rahim framing charges against the six accused including five police members.
On October 10, 2020, Rayhan Ahmed, 34, a resident of Akharia in Sylhet city, was tortured in police custody at Bandarbazar police outpost and he succumbed to the injuries the next day.
Following a case filed by his wife Tahmina Akter Tanni at Kotwali Police station, Sylhet Metropolitan Police found evidence of torture during investigation.
On October 12, four policemen, including the in-charge of Bandarbazar Police outpost Sub-Inspector Akbar Hossain were suspended and three others were removed from their posts in connection with the death of a man ‘in police custody’ in Sylhet.
Also read:Raihan murder: Court asks fugitive accused to surrender
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) later arrested four accused in this case including constable Harun and on October 9 next year, arrested main accused SI Akbar Hossain from Kanaighat border area.
On May 5, 2021, PBI submitted chargesheet in this case accusing Badarbazar police outpost SI Akbar Hossain, 32, Assistant SI Asheq Elahi, 43, Constable Md Harun Ur Rashid, 32, Titu Chandra Das, 38, SI Hasan Uddin, 32, and absconding Abdullah Al Noman, 32, a journalist from Companiganj upazila.
ACC case against Nazmul Huda to continue as HC rejects plea
The High Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by Barrister Nazmul Huda seeking cancelation of the trial proceedings of a case filed against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission for bringing false allegations against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.
It also asked the lower court concerned to dispose of the case within six months.
Also read:Court grants bail to Barrister Nazmul Huda in case involving ex-CJI Sk Sinha
Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after hearing the petition.
As per the court order, there is no bar to continue the case against Nazmul Huda, a former communications minister, in the lower court, said deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
On Monday, Nazmul filed a petition seeking cancelation of the trial proceedings of the case.
Huda lodged a complaint against SK Sinha at Shahbagh Police on September 27, 2018, alleging that the verdict in a case settled against him during the tenure of the former caretaker government was changed and bribery demanded.
He claimed that Sinha demanded a bribe of Tk 3.25 crore to dismiss the case. However, after investigation for a year and a half the ACC did not find any evidence in Huda's allegation.
Also read: ACC okays charge-sheet against Nazmul Huda, his wife
On February 20, 2020, ACC director Syed Iqbal Hossain lodged a counter complaint against Huda for making false allegations against SK Sinha.
In 2021, ACC director ,also the investigating officer of the case, submitted a chargesheet against him.
On November 9, 2021, a Dhaka special court sentenced Sinha to 11 years in jail for laundering Tk. 4 crore borrowed from Farmers Bank, now Padma Bank. He now lives abroad.
HC orders to set up information centre at SC within 60 days
The High Court (HC) has ordered to set up an information centre following the obligations of the Right to Information Act-2009(RTI) at the Supreme Court(SC) within 60 days.
A two-member HC bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Mia and Justice Khijir Hayat pronounced the verdict after hearing a writ petition.
Also read: Children’s death from adulterated syrup: HC orders DGDA to pay Tk 15 lakh to 104 victims’ families each
The writ petition was filed by Advocate Shishir Monir on May 26. Shishir conducted the hearing himself while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar stood for the state.
Replying to questions after the pronouncement of the verdict, Shishir said that instructions have been given to the Registrar General of the SC along with Registrars of both the Appellate and the HC divisions to set up the information centre.
According to the writ petition, the Right to Information Act-2009 directs to establish information cells and recruit Information Officers(IO) in all the constitutional institutions of the country, including the government and the autonomous bodies.
The writ petition also says that free flow of information is peoples’ constitutional right according to section 39 of the constitution. People are deprived of this right due to the absence of information cells and information officers at public offices.
Also read:HC orders inquiry into harassment of students wearing burqa, hijab
“The plaintiff had requested the Registrar of the HC for providing information regarding capital punishment. The plaintiff didn’t get any response from him. Later, he submitted a request to the Registrar General of the SC to implement the RTI-2009 Act. The plaintiff finally had to file a writ petition after not receiving any response from the SC official either,” adds the writ petition.
HC orders probe on ‘disappearance’ of birth and death registration info
The High Court has directed the government to investigate the disappearance of a large amount of birth and death registration information from the database stored on the server.
A HC bench of Justice Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing of a writ petition filed in the public interest on Sunday.
The HC also issued a rule questioning why the government’s inaction to prevent the difficulties faced by the people in obtaining birth and death certificates and non-investigation of the disappearance of a large numer of information from the relevant servers should not be declared illegal.
Also read: Stern action against harassment in issuing birth certificates: Minister
At the same time, the HC asked why the creation of a central database should not be directed as Rule-19 of Birth and Death Registration Act-2019.
The LGRD Secretary, the Registrar General of the Birth and Death Registration of LGRD, the Director General of the Planning-Monitoring, Evaluation and Inspection Office and the Joint Secretary of the Law Department of the ministry have been asked to submit the probe report responding to the rule in four weeks.
Lawyer Md Tanvir Ahmed appeared for the writ petition in the court while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar represented the state.
Md Tanvir submitted legal notice in this regard on April 4 attaching a report published in a national daily on March 12 entitled 'Citizens in Extreme suffering with birth registration certificate' and on February 4, 'Birth Certificate: Birth registration information of millions of people in Bangladesh not listed on server'.
The report stated that the birth registration law was enacted in 2004 and came into force in 2006. Birth registration certificate is mandatory for various important activities including passport issue, marriage registration, admission in educational institutions, obtaining driving license, land registration.
In the beginning handwritten certificates were given. Then at the end of 2010 an initiative was taken to digitalise it.
At that time the government also provided a separate allocation for computer training to the registrars concerned. But not all the information was digitised at that time, especially of the city corporations and densely populated areas, the report said.
Also read:Birth Registration in Bangladesh: Application Process, Essential Papers
According to another report, the Registrar General's Office in charge of registration of births and deaths in Bangladesh and officials of the Dhaka City Corporation say that millions of people who had previously obtained birth registration certificates now need to be re-registered online as their previous registrations have disappeared.
The birth registration of these individuals has not been updated online and it will no longer be possible to transfer old data to the new server. Authorities concerned are also struggling to cope with the large number of online birth registrations of a large number of school students.
HC directs ACC to identify those involved in money laundering through e-commerce
The High Court (HC) on Monday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to identify the persons who are allegedly involved in the money laundering and determine the amount of the laundered money through e-commerce.
The court also directed the anti-corruption watchdog to identify those responsible for the serious loss of the e-commerce customers.
An HC bench comprising Justice Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order with rule during a hearing taking cognizance of the three petitions in this regard.
Barrister Humaiyun Kabir Pallab, Mohammad Shishir Monir, and Anwarul Islam Badhon filed the writ petitions with the High Court while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar stood for the state.
Also Read: HC orders disposal of ex-MP Bodi’s graft case in 1 yr
Humaiyun Kabir Pallab told journalists that the court also directed the Ministry of Commerce to collect information about the loss of the consumers of the e-commerce companies. Besides, it also issued a rule on why it should not be declared illegal the inactions by the defendants to fix the responsibility of the financial scam.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir said the financial scam happened due to the inactiveness of the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Competition Commission, and Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection. The defendants have to answer to the court within four weeks of the rule.
On September 20, 2021, lawyer Anwarul Islam Badhon filed a writ to establish an independent e-commerce regulatory body according to the national digital commerce police mandate to keep the interest of the customers and their rights.
HC orders disposal of ex-MP Bodi’s graft case in 1 yr
The High Court on Sunday ordered the lower court concerned to dispose of a graft case against former Cox’s Bazar MP Abdur Rahman Bodi in a year.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Judge Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order rejecting Bodi’s plea to stay the trial of the case.
Advocate Rafikul Islam Sohel appeared for the writ petition in the court, while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Besides, Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik and Assistant Attorney General Anna Khanam Kali represented the state.
On January 18, HC rejected an appeal of Abdur Rahman Bodi seeking the cancellation of indictment order in this case. Later, he sought the stay of the trial of the case, said Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan.
On December 17 in 2007, ACC Chattogram Region Deputy Director Abul Kalam Azad filed the case against Bodi on charges of concealing information of assets worth Tk 57,11,500 and acquiring wealth illegally worth Tk 79,37,797.
In 2017, the proceedings of the case started after a long delay.
On September 13, 2020, a Chattogram court ordered charge framing against him in the case rejecting his plea for exemption.
Also read: Ex-MP Bodi goes viral for beating two AL leaders
Corruption in NSU’s land acquisition: HC orders arrest of 4 trustees
The High Court on Sunday ordered Shahbagh police to arrest four trustee board members of North South University (NSU) in a case over embezzling money in the name of buying land for the campus.
The four trustees of the university who sought bail were MA Kashem, Benazir Ahmed, Rehana Rahman and Muhammad Shahjahan.
Also read: Corruption in NSU’s land acquisition: Hearing on 4 trustees’ bail plea Thursday
A HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order rejecting their anticipatory bail plea.
The court also ordered the police to produce them before the trial court within 24 hours.
Senior lawyers AF Hasan Ariff, Fida M Kamal, Ajmalul Hossain and Mizan Sayeed appeared for the accused, while Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Attorney General AM Amin Uddin along with Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state.
On May 5, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sued the chairman of the board of trustees of North South University (NSU) Azim Uddin Ahmed and five others for embezzling Tk 303.82 crore in the name of buying land for the campus.
The other accused is- Managing director of Ashalaya Housing and Developers Limited Amin Mobammad Hilali.
The investigating officer of the ACC's Deputy Director Farid Ahmed Patwar filed the case.
According to the Private University Act, 2010, the Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of a private university like North South University. According to the Memorandum of Association and Articles (Rules and Regulations) of the University, the University is a charitable, welfare oriented, non-commercial and non-profit educational institution.
Also read: ACC sues NSU trustee board chairman, 5 others for stealing money
The case states that over 9088 decimal land was bought in the name of campus development of NSU with the consent of some members of the Board of Trustees bypassing the approval of the University Syndicate, University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Education.
They later withdrew cash from the buyer through cash checks in their own names and kept FDR in their own names.
They unjustly benefited themselves by committing illegal activities through misuse of power and embezzling university and government funds, according to the case.
In carrying out such illegal activities, they have committed a punishable offense by resorting to fraud and forgery and exchanging commissions.
Corruption in NSU’s land acquisition: Hearing on 4 trustees’ bail plea Thursday
The High Court on Wednesday fixed Thursday for the hearing of the bail petitions of four trustee board members of North South University (NSU) in a case over embezzling money in the name of buying land for the campus.
The four members of the board of trustees of the university who sought bail were MA Kashem, Benazir Ahmed, Rehana Rahman and Muhammad Shahjahan.
Also read:ACC sues NSU trustee board chairman, 5 others for stealing money
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo fixed the date after hearing of the case today.
Barrister Ajmalul Hossain QC, former Attorney General AF Hassan Ariff and former Attorney General Fida M Kamal and Barrister Mizan Sayeed appeared for the accused in the court while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin ,Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state.
On May 5, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sued the chairman of the board of trustees of North South University (NSU) Azim Uddin Ahmed and five others for embezzling money in the name of buying land for the campus.
The other accused are: Managing director of Ashalaya Housing and Developers Limited Amin Mobammad Hilali and NSU Board of Trustee members MA Kashem, Benazir Ahmed, Rehana Rahman and Muhammad Shahjahan.
The investigating officer of the ACC's Deputy Director Farid Ahmed Patwar filed the case.
According to the Private University Act, 2010, the Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of a private university like North South University. According to the Memorandum of Association and Articles (Rules and Regulations) of the University, the University is a charitable, welfare oriented, non-commercial and non-profit educational institution.
The case states that over 9088 decimal land was bought in the name of campus development of NSU with the consent of some members of the Board of Trustees bypassing the approval of the University Syndicate, University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Education.
Also read:PMO document forgery: ACC approves chargesheet against 8 people including NSU treasurer Shahjahan
They later withdrew cash from the buyer through cash checks in their own names and kept FDR in their own names.
They unjustly benefited themselves by committing illegal activities through misuse of power and embezzling university and government funds, according to the case.
In carrying out such illegal activities, they have committed a punishable offense by resorting to fraud and forgery and exchanging commissions.
HC issues rule on extending former ACC director Enamul Basir's sentence
The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule questioning why the sentence of suspended Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director Khandaker Enamul Basir in a bribery case should not be extended.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Kazi Md Ezarul Haque Akunnd issued the rule during a hearing on a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Also read: Former ACC director Basir gets 8 yrs in jail in bribery case
Senior advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission.
On February 23, Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 Sheikh Nazmul Alam sentenced suspended DIG Mizanur Rahman and suspended ACC director Basir to three and eight years (three years for passing information and five years for bribery) in jail, respectively in the case.
Later Mizan and Basir moved the High Court against the order.
The ACC appealed to the High Court on Monday for extending Basir’s jail term.
On April 13, HC granted two-month bail to Mizan against which ACC appealed to the Appellate Division.
The corruption case dates back to June 24, 2019, when ACC director Manjur Morshed lodged a complaint against the disgraced DIG, his wife Sohelia Anar Ratna, nephew sub-inspector Mahmudul Hasan and younger brother Mahbubur Rahman.
According to the case statement, Mizan accumulated wealth worth Tk 32.8 million beyond his known sources of income. On the other hand, he had declared wealth worth Tk 37 million in his tax statement.
Then director of ACC, Basir, was made the investigating officer in the case.
During the probe, Mizan had accused Basir of demanding Tk 4.0 million as bribe for setting the case, prompting the Commission to appoint director Monjur Morshed as the investigating officer in the case.
Also read:Suspended DIG Mizan, ACC director Enamul Basir indicted
At the same time, a three-member probe body was formed, led by ACC director Sheikh Mohammad Fanafillah, to look into the allegations of bribery.
On July 16, 2019, Fanafillah lodged a complaint against both Mizan and Basir. And on April 16, 2020, a Dhaka court indicted the two and directed the official beginning of the trial in the case.