HC declares detention of Falu illegal

The High Court (HC) yesterday declared illegal the detention of former BNP lawmaker Mosaddak Ali Falu.
Upon a writ petition filed by Falu, an HC bench of justices Mir Hasmat Ali and Shamim Hasnain also asked the government to release Falu immediately, if he had not been shown arrested in any other case.
Meanwhile, another HC bench of justices Md Arayesuddin and Md Abu Tariq granted ad interim bail for two months to Falu in a case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) for misappropriating relief materials.
Falu's counsel barrister Ahsanul Karim yesterday told The Daily Star that there is no legal obstacle now to his client's release following the HC verdict.
Upon separate appeals, two other HC benches granted bail to former BNP state minister Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, Laila Arjumand Banu, wife of former Awami League minister Mohammad Nasim, and Nazmin Banu, wife of Engineer ANH Akhter Hossain, in separate corruption cases filed by the ACC.
Earlier, special courts had sentenced them to imprisonment for different terms in the cases.
CASE AGAINST FALU
On November 3 the Supreme Court stayed an HC order that granted Falu bail in the relief scam case after he had obtained bail from the HC submitting a controversial medical report.
The government on October 26 issued a detention order against him.
Earlier on June 2, a special court sentenced him to five years' rigorous imprisonment in the same case.
Falu was arrested at his cantonment residence in the capital on corruption charge on February 6 last year.