Alleged Graft by Ruhul Amin: 27-year-old case against former state minister to resume

The Supreme Court yesterday cleared way for a lower court to resume trial proceedings of a 27-year-old corruption case filed against Jatiya Party leader and former state minister ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader. 

The then bureau of anti-corruption (BAC) filed the case with Dumki Police Station in Barishal on October 2, 1994 against Howlader on charge of embezzling Tk 1.23 crore, which had been allocated to prevent river erosion and rehabilitate victims of erosion.

The reported embezzlement took place during the regime of HM Ershad's Jatiya Party government, when Howlader was state minister for agriculture, Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

Yesterday, the Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict that, on March 29, 2017, cleared way for the Divisional Special Judge's Court of Barishal to run trial proceedings of the case.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by Howlader, challenging the HC verdict.

After the HC delivered the verdict, the trial court did not run proceedings, as the leave to appeal petition was pending with the apex court, Khurshid said.

Now, there is no legal bar for Divisional Special Judge's Court of Barishal to resume the trial, he said.

The ACC lawyer said the SC dismissed the leave to appeal petition, as there are specific allegations against him of misappropriating state money.

Lawyer Munshi Moniruzzaman appeared for Howlader during the virtual hearing of his petition.