Govt can now confiscate Janata Tower property
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday upheld the High Court (HC) verdict that had fined Tk 10,000 or two year's in jail to each of the 17 accused, including Jatiya Party Senior Presidium Member Rawshan Ershad, in the Janata Tower corruption case.
The four-member full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin also upheld another HC order that had directed the government to confiscate the properties of Janata Tower.
However, the apex court granted an appeal filed by the government against the High Court order, which earlier directed the government to hand over Janata Tower to a group led by Shukur Ali Pradhan.
The SC delivered the verdicts after dismissing separate appeals filed by the government and the accused.
Deputy Attorney General Zahirul Islam Mukul, who represented the government, told reporters that the properties of Janata Tower would remain as government properties after the SC verdicts.
The now defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption filed the graft case with Tejgaon police station against former President HM Ershad, his wife Rawshan Ershad, former RAJUK chairman MM Rahmatullah, Shukur Pradhan and 17 others on April 14, 1991.
Special Divisional Judge's court in Dhaka later sentenced Ershad, Rawshan Ershad and others to seven years in jail and directed the government to confiscate the properties of Janata Tower.
The accused then filed separate appeals with the HC against the verdict.
Following their appeals, the HC commuted the period of punishment of the accused on August 24, 2000. The court reduced the jail punishment of Ershad to five years and fined him Tk 5.48 crore. The HC also fined Tk 10,000 to other accused, in default, to suffer two years' in jail.
The government filed three criminal appeals against the HC verdicts.
After three and a half years in prison, the Appellate Division maintained the fine of Ershad but relieved him of serving out the remaining one and a half years in jail.
Rawshan and others filed seven separate criminal appeals with the Supreme Court against the HC order of confiscating Janata Tower properties.
Following a writ petition, the HC directed the government to hand over the properties of Janata Tower to Shukur Ali Pradhan and others.
The government then filed a civil appeal with the SC against the HC order of handing over the properties to the accused.
The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed all the criminal appeals and allowed the civil appeal.
Advocate Khan Saifur Rahman represented Rawshan and others in the hearings.
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