SC upholds HC orders staying proceedings against Hasina

The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday upheld the High Court (HC) orders staying the proceedings against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the Niko and barge-mounted power plant cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
A four-member full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin kept stand-over the two provisional leave to appeal filed by the government to stay the HC orders and also asked the government to file regular appeals with the SC against the HC orders.
“The government appealed to the SC for vacating the HC orders. After hearing both sides, the Appellate Division kept stand-over the government petitions, but did not stay the HC orders. So the HC orders remain upheld," Hasina's counsel-barrister Shafique Ahmed told reporters.
"We are happy with the apex court order," he said adding that the SC order was a step for establishing rule of law, justice and democracy.
Meanwhile, Attorney General (AG) barrister Fida M Kamal said that the government would file regular appeals with the SC against the HC orders as soon as possible, as per the apex court order.
ACC's counsel advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that following the SC order, the HC orders staying the proceedings of the cases -- remain valid till filing of regular appeals.
Earlier yesterday during the hearing, Fida M Kamal told the court that the HC bench, which earlier passed orders staying the proceedings against Sheikh Hasina and issuing of rules, has no jurisdiction to hear the quashment petitions and to pass orders in the petitions.
"Since the HC bench has called the records of the cases, the trial courts are not able to resume the trial proceedings," he said praying for staying of the HC orders and directing both parties of the cases to dispose of the HC rules within a time limit.
The Attorney General also said that time is being lost in the proceedings of the trials following the HC orders.
Hasina's principal counsel, barrister Rafique-ul Huq, told the court that these appeals against the HC orders are politically motivated appeals.
"If the government files appeals against all the interim orders of the HC, then there is no need of the high court. Why does the government have so much interest to file such appeals? Also as per the rules of the ACC act, the officials concerned with dealing the cases have to take approval from the ACC at every stage of the cases. But in these cases, the ACC did not give its sanctions as per those rules," he said.
Barrister Huq also said that the investigation officers did not submit investigation reports of the cases within the stipulated 60 days of filing of the cases, according to the concerned law and thus the cases had become invalid.
He argued that during the hearing of the cases at the HC bench, counsels for both sides of the case had agreed that the hearing of the quashment petitions filed by Hasina would be held in the bench of Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Mashuque Hosain Ahmed.
"The HC bench also agreed to hear the matter. So the Attorney General's argument that this bench has no jurisdiction to hear the petitions is not valid," he said.
The apex court announced its order after hearing all arguments.
Earlier, the HC bench on July 7 stayed for two months all proceedings of the Niko and barge-mounted power plant cases against Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, following the two petitions filed by Hasina for quashing the cases filed by ACC.
The court also issued separate rules asking the government and the ACC to explain within four weeks why the cases should not be quashed.
The government on July 8 filed two separate petitions (provisional leave to appeals) with the SC to vacate the HC orders that stayed the proceedings of the cases against Hasina.
The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice MA Matin referred the matter to the full bench of the apex court for the hearing yesterday.