Some vested group plotting against me
The High Court (HC) yesterday granted anticipatory bail to former caretaker government adviser Justice Fazlul Huq in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
A bench comprising Justice AFM Abdur Rahman and Justice SM Emdadul Hoque ruled in favour of bail, considering Huq's age (70) and the positions he had held over the years.
The embattled former judge, charged with amassing wealth worth Tk 89.81 lakh through illegal means and concealing assets information from the ACC, has been asked to submit bail bonds to the trial court within the next three months.
Earlier in the day, the bench of Justice Zinat Ara and Justice Syed Mohammad Ziaul Karim refused to entertain Justice Huq's prayer for bail.
It said it would not hear the petition as charges in the case have already been pressed.
On failing in the first attempt, Fazlul Huq and his lawyers rushed to the chief justice and pleaded successfully for another bench to hear the bail prayer.
The anti-graft body filed the case on April 13 this year.
On September 2, ACC Assistant Director Mohammad Ibrahim, also investigation officer (IO), submitted charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka. He showed 38 people as prosecution witnesses.
The following day, the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court issued an arrest warrant.
Talking to reporters on the court premises yesterday, Justice Huq said he had always paid taxes, and never committed any offence.
"The High Court orders prove that the case has been filed to harass me. The charge sheet was submitted a long time after filing of the case. Some vested interest groups have been plotting against me. I hope I'll be able to see off the conspiracy through legal means," he said.
Asked about the allegations that he had given Tk 24 lakh to three tricksters to have him cleared of corruption charges, he said those are “false, baseless and fabricated”.
He added, "Some quarters are out to malign me. I was a judge of the Appellate Division. I have never seen such harassment of an apex court judge in my life.
“I surely would have resigned my position had such allegations been levelled against me during my service."
Huq's counsel Helaluddin Mollah said, “Our client was a judge of the apex court and an adviser to the caretaker government. Above all, he is an aged and respectable person, and this case has been filed to harass him. Satisfied with our arguments, the court granted him bail."
Replying to a query, he said they have yet to decide whether to seek a stay on the case proceedings.
Huq first sought to file a bail petition with the HC on September 2, but failed as the bench concerned did not sit.
He submitted wealth statement to the ACC on November 26 last year.
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