The Supreme Court today gave permission to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to move an appeal before it against a High Court verdict that acquitted former BNP state minister Shahjahan Omar in a corruption case.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the order after granting a petition filed by ACC.

On August 15, 2010, the HC scrapped the jail sentence of the former state minister in the corruption case.

Earlier on May 14, 2008, Shahjahan was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment and fined Tk 10 lakh by a special judge court on charges of amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement submitted to the ACC.

On September 27, 2007, the ACC filed the case with Gulshan Police Station against Shahjahan on charges of concealing about Tk 2.64 crore in his wealth statement and amassing about Tk 46.19 lakh illegally.

In 2010, the ACC filled a leave-to-appeal petition with the SC seeking its permission to move an appeal challenging the HC verdict.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the HC verdict that acquitted Shahjahan Omar is now under challenge following the Appellate Division order.