HC questions bail of former AL lawmaker Awal in corruption case

The High Court today questioned a lower court order that granted bail to former Awami League lawmaker from Pirojpur AKMA Awal in a corruption case involving Tk 33.27 crore.

The HC issued a rule asking AKMA Awal, who was elected lawmaker of Pirojpur-1 in 2008 and 2014, and the state to explain in two weeks why the lower court order granting him bail in the case should not be scrapped.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim came up with the rule following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenging the lower court order of bail.

The ACC recently filed the petition with the HC saying that there are specific allegations against Awal of illegally amassing wealth and concealing information about it.

A Dhaka court on December 6 last year granted bail to Awal in the case filed by the ACC with its combined district office in Dhaka on September 30 last year on charge of illegally amassing Tk 33.27 crore.

The lower court has committed an error by granting him bail, the commission said in the petition.

Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the ACC while Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state during hearing of the ACC's petition.