ACC's last ditch attempts to save Maya
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) had taken last ditch attempts to protect relief disaster management minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya by not carrying out a case against him, but it was too late. During the hearing the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has cautioned ACC against its decision to halt the case, but within six months ACC once against decided to drop charges.
The ACC decided twice not to continue the graft case against Maya while hearing of the case was going on defying Appellate Division’s cautions.
An ACC letter of seeking discontinuity of the cases reached at the Advocate on Record of the Supreme Court on 15 June.
The letter could not be taken to the consideration of the Appellate Division as it was too late.
ACC chairman Badiuzzaman told Prothom Alo that the commission now welcomes Appellate Division’s decision of continuing the case though the anti-graft body had initially decided to discontinue it.
The ACC will now go ahead with the case, he said.
Prothom Alo investigations reveal that the ACC decided not to continue the case against the minister on 14 June, the day when Appellate Division was supposed to give its decision.
The ACC decision to discontinue the case reached the Supreme Court on 15 June around 12:00pm, Advocate on Record Mahmuda Begum informed Prothom Alo.
The Appellate Division on 14 June scrapped the High Court verdict that cleared Maya from graft charges.
An Appellate Division bench led by chief justice SK Sinha on 12 January expressed its surprise over ACC’s decision to discontinue a graft case against MP Haji Selim.
The Chief Justice, while delivering the verdict, said it confuses the court if a decision is taken to discontinue a case midway.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told Prothom Alo that the Appellate Division’s decision on the cases against Haji Selim and Maya was very clear and so the division discouraged any decision of discontinuing the cases.
If the cases are withdrawn in this manner, the High Court verdict will be upheld, thus brining it into conflict with the verdict of the Appellate Division.
The High Court will conduct the hearing afresh of the cases filed against six persons including Maya, Haji Selim, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Amanullah Aman, Mir Nasir and Monjurul Ahsan Munshi.
While the ACC chairman was away in the US on a visit, an ACC meeting chaired by its acting chairman Shahabuddin on 14 June decided not to continue with the case.
The relief and disaster management minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya approached the ACC at the end of May or towards the beginning of June, for withdrawal of the case. But the corruption case of the minister had been pending with the Appellate Division for over six months.
ACC commissioner Shahabuddin told Prothom Alo, “The ACC has remained determined not to withdraw the case. The commission did not consider government’s earlier recommendation for withdrawing 300 corruption cases.”
He, however, confirmed that the ACC had decided not to continue the corruption cases of several people other than Maya and Haji Selim, in the Appellate Division.
The Appellate Division earlier accepted ACC’s applications in connection with at least two cases concerning same legal question, but had not clarified the legal implications till then.