ACC can summon anyone over graft

The High Court has observed that the Anti-Corruption Commission can issue notice to any citizen asking him or her to appear in person to its office to place statements over corruption allegations.

The HC bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq made the observation in the full text of its order on a writ petition filed by Deputy Attorney General Jannatul Ferdousi Rupa challenging the legality of a notice issued by the ACC requesting her to appear before the commission's office to give her statement on the allegation against her of amassing illegal wealth.

The HC bench on December 3 upheld the ACC notice through summarily rejecting the writ petition.

The court also ordered DAG Rupa to appear before the head office of ACC in Dhaka on or before January 27 to place her statement.

The full text of the rejection order was released yesterday after the judges of the HC bench signed it.

Interpreting the HC observation, ACC's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the ACC has legal jurisdiction to issue notice to any citizen of Bangladesh except for the president, requesting him or her to appear to the commission office for their statements over corruption allegations.

The ACC has not violated any fundamental rights of DAG Rupa by issuing the notice to her, he said, adding the ACC issues such notices to examine corruption allegations.

The ACC notice does not mean trial proceedings against any person, Khurshid Alam Khan added.

On November 1, DAG Rupa filed the writ petition with the HC challenging the legality of the ACC's October 28 notice asking her to appear before it on November 4 to place a statement about the alleged accumulation of wealth beyond her known sources of income.

According to an ACC letter, DAG Rupa has been charged with irregularities, corruption, abuse of power and bribery through forgery and collusion with different accused persons, including GK Shamim, thereby acquiring illicit wealth.