�Grabbing of govt land�
SC gives Moudud till Sep 3 to appeal
The SC on August 23 directed Moudud to file a regular leave-to-appeal petition before it within August 30
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday granted BNP leader Moudud Ahmed until September 3 to file an appeal against a High Court order rejecting a petition over a case filed against him by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for alleged illegal occupation of government land. The Supreme Court on August 23 directed Moudud to file a regular leave-to-appeal petition before it within August 30. It also fixed August 30 for hearing on the matter. But Moudud yesterday filed an application before the court seeking more time, saying that he is yet to receive copies of the previous orders.
Later, the four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha granted him until September 3 to file the appeal. The BNP standing committee member represented himself in the court while Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the ACC. After the hearing, Khurshid Alam Khan told reporters that the trial court was supposed to hold hearing on the charge framing in the case yesterday (Sunday), but that did not take place as the matter was pending with the apex court.
The ACC filed the case against former BNP minister Moudud Ahmed and his brother Monjur Ahmed with the Gulshan Police Station on December 17, 2013 on charges of grabbing government land worth over Tk 300 crore in Gulshan area of the capital. On September 14 last year, the Senior Special Judges Court of Dhaka took cognisance of the charges in presence of Moudud. On June 23 this year, the HC rejected a petition filed by Moudud challenging the legality of the lower courts order accepting the charges. Later, the senior BNP leader filed a petition with the Supreme Court, on June 28, seeking a stay on the HC judgment.
