HC to hear ACC plea in Maya graft case
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed a petition with the High Court for hearing the pending appeals filed by six accused including Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya challenging their conviction and sentences handed down to them in separate corruption cases.The five others accused, whose appeals are pending with the High Court, are former BNP minister Nazmul Huda and his wife Sigma Huda, former state ministers Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Amanullah Aman, and Engineer Monjurul Ahsan Munshi. All of them had filed appeals with the HC challenging their convictions in separate graft cases.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan, counsel for the ACC, filed the petition with the HC as per the apex court directive that had earlier sent the appeals to the HC for fresh hearings.
After filing the petition, Khan told reporters, The HC bench comprising Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice SM Mozibor Rahman accepted my prayer and the bench will fix a date later on for the hearing on the pending appeals.
On June 14, the Supreme Court scrapped a High Court verdict that had acquitted Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya in a corruption case filed in 2007 during the caretaker government tenure. The High Court had acquitted Maya in October 2010 following an appeal filed by the senior Awami League leader.
The Appellate Division had also sent the appeal of Maya to the High Court for its further hearing and disposal. The Anti Corruption Commission filed the case against Maya with the Sutrapur Police Station on June 13, 2007 on charge of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 29 lakh and concealing information about it.
A special judges court in Dhaka, on February 14, 2008, convicted Maya and sentenced him to 13 years imprisonment and also fined him Tk 5 crore and ordered confiscation of wealth of about Tk 6 crore that was acquired illegally.
Maya filed an appeal with the HC on May 25, 2009 challenging the special courts verdict and he was acquitted by the HC on October 27, 2010.
Separate special courts had convicted and sentenced the five others to imprisonment for different terms during the military-backed caretaker government in corruption cases filed by the ACC.
Later, the HC acquitted them from the charges and convictions in response to their appeals. Following the acquittals, the ACC moved with the apex court against the HC verdicts. The apex court later cancelled the HC order and directed the HC for fresh hearings on the appeals.
