HC bars bdnews24 editor-in-chief from leaving country without permission

The High Court today ordered Toufique Imrose Khalidi, editor-in-chief of bdnews24.com, not to leave the country without permission till its December 1 verdict on a petition challenging his bail in a corruption case.

The HC gave the order and set the date for the verdict while hearing the petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenging the bail granted to Khalidi by a lower court, ACC's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.Khalidi's lawyer Mohammad Shaharia Biplob said his client has not misused the bail granted by the lower court to him.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat Lizu passed the order.Following the HC order, The Daily Star tried to contact Khalidi for comment, but he has not yet responded to phone calls or text messages.

The court on December 8, 2020 issued a rule asking the state and Khalidi to explain why the lower court order that granted him bail in the case should not be scrapped.

The HC had issued the rule following a revision petition filed by the ACC challenging the lower court order of the bail.

The ACC on July 30, 2020 filed the corruption case against Khalidi for allegedly depositing Tk 42 crore with no "legal source" in different banks.