Saifur, Nizami, Mojahid get HC bail; case stayed
The High Court (HC) yesterday granted two months' ad interim bail to former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid in the Barapukuria coalmine corruption case.
An HC bench of justices Muzammel Hossain and Afzal Hossain Ahmed stayed proceedings of the case against them for two months and issued a rule upon the government and the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) to explain within four weeks why the proceedings against them should not be quashed.
Meanwhile, the Special Judge's Court-2 fixed November 23 as the next date for hearing in the case after the three politicians along with another accused former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain appealed to it to re-fix the date saying they would submit their nomination papers to contest the next parliamentary election.
The lawyers concerned said the three politicians would be released after the jail authorities receive relevant papers from the court.
They hoped that the procedures for their release will be completed soon.
Meanwhile, another HC bench granted bail for three months to Saifur Rahman's son and former BNP lawmaker Naser Rahman in two cases in which he had been sentenced to different terms.
The ACC filed the case on February 26 this year against 16 people including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on charges of causing a loss of Tk 159 crore to the state exchequer by awarding a contract for operating Barapukuria coal mine to a Chinese company through abuse of power.
On November 10, Saifur, Nizami and Mojaid surrendered before a special anti-graft court, set up on the Sangsad Bhaban premises, and prayed for bail in the case.
Special Court-2 Judge Amar Kumar Roy rejected their bail prayers and sent them to jail saying that since the case is under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), there is no scope for the accused to get bail.
Following separate petitions filed by them, the HC earlier directed them to surrender before the trial court and also kept their petitions pending with it. The court yesterday held hearing on the pending petitions.
The lawyers concerned said the HC granted bail to Saifur on health grounds while Nizami and Mojahid were granted bail as other accused including Khaleda Zia and former ministers Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury had earlier been granted bail by the HC in the same case.
Barrister Abdur Razzaq, counsel for Nizami and Mojahid, told journalists that the HC granted bail to his clients as the commission's approval for filing of the case was not in accordance with the law. It was politically motivated, he added.
ACC's lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said the HC granted bail and issued stay orders and a ruling to examine whether the commission maintained due procedures in approving its officials to file the case and submit the charge sheet.
CASES AGAINST NASER RAHMAN
The HC bench of justices Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Farid Ahmed granted Naser bail after he filed separate petitions against the convictions in the two cases seeking bail.
A special court sentenced him to 13 years' imprisonment on May 27 last year in a corruption case filed with Gulshan Police Station by the ACC while a Sylhet court awarded him 7 years' imprisonment in an arms case filed with Kotwali Police Station in the district.
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