HC clears way for trial of Moudud in graft case

The High Court today cleared the way for a lower court to continue trial proceedings against former BNP law minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed in a corruption case filed during the regime of military-backed caretaker government.

The court rejected a revision petition filed by Moudud challenging the trial proceedings of the case against him and seeking stay on them.

The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath passed the order after holding hearing on the petition.

Contacted, Barrister Moudud told The Daily Star that the ground on which the HC rejected the revision petition will be known after the full text of the order will be available.

He said he will move a petition before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the HC order after receiving its full text.

Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer, Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said that there is no legal bar for the lower court to continue trial proceedings against Moudud Ahmed in the corruption case following the HC order.

Special judge’s court-6 of Dhaka is scheduled to record statements from the witnesses of the case on July 26, he added.

A Dhaka court on June 21 framed charges Moudud in the case filed by the ACC on September 16, 2007, with Gulshan Police Station on charge of amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income and withholding information about his assets.

The first information report (FIR) of the case said Moudud showed movable and immovable properties worth over Tk 13.23 crore in his account of wealth submitted to the ACC on July 23, 2007.

On May 15, 2008, the ACC pressed charges against Moudud in the case alleging that he (Moudud) amassed wealth worth over Tk 7.38 crore through illegal means and concealed information about wealth worth over Tk 4.40 crore from the commission.