SC upholds HC bail order for bdnews24.com editor-in-chief

The Supreme Court today upheld a High Court order that granted anticipatory bail to Toufique Imrose Khalidi, editor-in-chief of online news portal bdnews24.com, in a corruption case.

The apex court dismissed a petition filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) that sought a stay on the HC bail order for Khalidi.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Muhammad Imman Ali came up with the dismissal order after hearing arguments on the petition.

Lawyers Shafique Ahmed, Abdul Matin Khasru and AM Amin Uddin appeared for Khalidi, while Khurshid Alam Khan argued for the ACC.

Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Khalidi will remain on bail following the apex court's order, but investigation into the allegation of corruption against him will continue.

The ACC filed the petition with the Appellate Division on August 27 challenging the HC order that granted anticipatory bail to the journalist in the corruption case.

In the petition, the ACC prayed to the apex court to stay the HC's bail order for Khalidi, saying that there are specific allegations against him of committing corruption.

On August 26, the HC granted anticipatory bail to Khalidi for eight weeks in the corruption case.

The ACC on July 30 filed the case against Khalidi for allegedly depositing Tk 42 crore which have no "legal source" in different banks.

Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, deputy director of the anti-graft watchdog, filed the case with the ACC's integrated district office Dhaka-1, saying that Khalidi earned the money through illegal means by creating "fake documents".

Khalidi, however, has denied the allegations of corruption brought against him.