The Supreme Court (SC) order means the ACC will not be able to function during almost the whole tenure of the caretaker government.

However, the ACC was learnt to be preparing for applying to the court to modify the order so that it can function.

Acknowledging that he is aware of the SC order, ACC Chairman Justice Sultan Ahmed Khan told The Daily Star Thursday night, "We will submit an application before the court to modify the order so as to make the ACC functional."

Moudud, who tabled a bill paving the way for the formation of the ACC and strongly asserted that the organisation will act independently to root out corruption to a great extent, himself made the move in the Supreme Court to halt the commission's operation.

After its formation on November 21, 2004, the ACC absorbed over 750 staff of the erstwhile Bureau of Anti-Corruption (Bac) through a screening process and asked the government to withdraw the rest 263.

Ahsan Ali and a few other aggrieved Bac district anti-corruption officers filed a writ petition seeking stay on the screening criteria, ACC's absorption of Bac employees and withdrawal of others, and the appointment of personal secretaries (PSs) to the ACC chairman and commissioners.

Justices Syed Mohammad Dastagir Hossain and Mamnoon Rahman passed an order on March 5 in favour of the petitioners.

Turned literally inoperative, the ACC then moved in the High Court (HC) bench of Justice Joynul Abedin for vacating the stay. After hearing for several days, the matter was sent back to the bench of justices Dastagir and Mamnoon.

On August 24, the bench vacated its stay order on the ACC screening criteria, Bac staff absorption and withdrawal processes, and appointment of the PSs.

Bac district anti-corruption officer Ahsan Ali then appealed with the Chamber Judge's court of the Appellate Division seeking stay on the August 24 HC order.

On August 28, Chamber Judge Amirul Kabir Chowdhury stayed the operation of Bac staff withdrawal order for three months and directed petitioners Ahsan Ali and others to file a regular leave petition.

The judge, however, made it clear that the order would not affect the function of the ACC.

Ahsan Ali filed a regular petition with the Chamber Judge's court on Wednesday, seeking stay order on the August 24 HC order.

Chamber Judge Justice Joynul Abedin, who heard the matter in the HC earlier and was meantime elevated to the SC Appellate Division in August, this time stayed the HC order until January 21 and said the leave petition will come up for hearing before the court the same day.

Talking to The Daily Star on Wednesday night, Ahsan Ali said Moudud Ahmed and Barrister Omar Sadat moved his petition before the Supreme Court as his counsel advocate Khondoker Mahbubuddin Ahmed, former BNP lawmaker and chairman of parliamentary standing committee on law, was absent.

The ACC had taken illegal steps and the August 24 order was passed without hearing, Ahsan Ali quoted Moudud as arguing in the court.

ACC high officials observed that the move for the order is aimed at turning the commission dysfunctional during the caretaker government's tenure, an appropriate time for digging into corruption of all former ministers, bureaucrats, beneficiaries of the previous government and political leaders without facing much pressure from any quarter.

"It is clearly a way to turn us inoperative," said an ACC high official.