HC verdict on appeals in JP chief Ershad’s graft case tomorrow

The High Court will give its verdict tomorrow on three separate appeals filed in connection with a 25-year-old graft case against Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad.

The bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty will pronounce the verdict as the judges concluded hearing on the appeals on April 12 and fixed May 9 [tomorrow] for delivering the judgement, Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

READ MORE: HC fixes Apr 3 for hearing in Ershad's graft case

Of the three appeals, one was filed by Ershad seeking acquittal in the case as a lower court had sentenced him [Ershad] to three years’ imprisonment in 1992. Two other appeals were filed by the government for enhancing the punishment of Ershad, the ACC official said.

On March 30, the bench allowed the anti-graft body to become a party in the case as a co-appellant of the case.

Earlier on March 27, 2017, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha assigned the HC bench to hear the three appeals.

The then Bureau of Anti-Corruption (Bac), which became defunct after formation of the ACC in 2004, had filed the case against Ershad with Cantonment Police Station in 1992 on the charge of misappropriating Tk 1.91 crore by misusing powers at different times when he was the president from December 11, 1983 to December 6, 1990.

On February 3, 1992, a Dhaka court convicted Ershad, also chairman of the Jatiya Party, and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment for misappropriating the money and ordered the authorities concerned to confiscate the money and his Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle for committing corruption.