Govt cannot withdraw or recommend for withdrawal of graft cases, HC rules

The High Court has ruled that the government cannot withdraw any corruption case filed or moved by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and cannot recommend for withdrawal of such cases from the trial proceedings either.

The ACC is an independent body under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and therefore, any case filed and moved following the approval from the commission (ACC) cannot be withdrawn and recommendations for case withdrawal by the government will not be entertained, the HC observed.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman came up with the observation while delivering a short verdict on December 10 on a revision petition filed by the ACC involving this issue.

The government has reportedly recommended for withdrawal of more than 7,000 criminal cases --including many corruption cases filed during the regimes of the BNP-led alliance government and the military backed caretaker government.

ACC's lawyer AKM Fazlul Hoque today told The Daily Star that the HC bench has come up with the observation endorsing his arguments that the trial proceedings of the ACC's cases are run by the courts under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958.

Under section 10(4) of this act, the cases of the ACC can be withdrawn by the trial courts concerned only following the written approval from the commission (ACC).

The government cannot interfere in the running of trials of ACC cases, he said.

He said the divisional special judge's court in Sunamganj on January 26, 2012 had approved an application from the government to withdraw a corruption case filed against Md Abdul Kashem, chairman of Fourth Borodal Uttar Union under Taherpur upazila in Sunamganj, and two others.

The Sunamganj court also exempted the accused from the case proceedings. The case was filed with Taherpur Police Station on April 5, 2007 against the accused, on charges of embezzling 17 bundles of government relief tin worth Tk 1.36 lakh.

Earlier on February 11, 2011 the home ministry recommended for withdrawal of the case.

The ACC filed the revision petition with the HC on November 19, 2014 challenging the Sunamganj court order.

Following the revision petition, a HC bench led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim issued a rule asking the state and the accused persons to explain why the home ministry's recommendation for withdrawal of the corruption case should not be declared illegal.

The bench also ordered the three accused to surrender to the trial court concerned in four weeks in connection with the corruption case. The accused surrendered to the lower court concerned in line with the HC directive.

The accused persons, however, were granted bail in the case.

After holding hearing on the pending rule, the HC on December 10 delivered the short verdict.

The details of the HC observation will be known when the full text of the HC verdict is released, lawyer Fazlul Hoque said, adding that the government did not place any argument on the rule.