HC refuses Moudud’s stay plea

A High Court bench today refused to hear a writ petition filed by former BNP law minister Moudud Ahmed seeking stay on the trial proceedings of a corruption case against him.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim also sent the petition to the chief justice for a decision.

The judges, however, didn’t disclose the reason behind the decision of sending the petition to the chief justice.

Contacted, Barrister Moudud Ahmed told The Daily Star that he requested the HC bench led by Justice Enayetur Rahim to send his petition to the chief justice, as the bench was unwilling to hear it.

Now, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain will send the petition to another bench of the HC for its hearing and disposal, he said.

Meanwhile, Anti-Corruption Commission’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told this newspaper that there is no legal bar for the trial court concerned to continue the trial proceedings of the case against Moudud Ahmed.

The ACC on September 16, 2007 filed the case against Moudud with Gulshan Police Station on charge of amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income and withholding information about his assets.

Moudud recently filed the writ petition with the HC challenging the legality of the ACC’s interpretation about his incomes in the case.

The ACC has no jurisdiction to make such interpretation, he said in the petition.

A Dhaka court on June 21 last year framed charges against Moudud in the corruption case.