Gulam Rabbani :
The High Court in a full verdict has observed that the Anti-Corruption Commission hardly at its own initiatives, rather, unfortunately still depends upon media reports to form its belief for taking action against the corrupt persons.
The court said, “We have cauciously noticed that the Commission still does not have capacity or courage to form such kind of belief even there are thousands of apparent corrupt persons possessing properties and money. But hardly at its own initiatives, rather, unfortunately still depends upon media coverages to form its belief for taking action under S ections 26 and 27 of the Ain, 2004.”
The court also said, “We observe that corruption is a mental disease which cannot be curred by only corporal punishment but by identifying the areas and individuals or group of individuals addicted, facilitated and opportunistic to Corruption and by listing their names, including within the Commission and Judiciary by the commission as well as by all heads of private and public offices and Courts for sending them warning letter as soon as any person is detected and disclosed.”
We know that it will be a difficult and risky task because an honest person may fall prey of a corrupt person but we have to start from somewhere to be a civilized and corruption-free nation, also read the full text released recently.
The observation came in the full verdict that upheld 10 years’ imprisonment given to Haji Mohammad Salim, a member of parliament from Dhaka-7 constituency, in a case filed on charge of possessing wealth worth Tk 269.2 million beyond his known source of income.
However, the ruling party man was acquitted of three years’ imprisonment given by a special court on charge of concealing information of his assets in the same case.
The HC bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq delivered the verdict on March 9 in 2021 after holding hearing on an appeal petition filed by Haji Salim against the special court verdict.
Haji Salim has been asked to surrender to the lower court within 30 days of receiving a copy of the HC verdict. The HC has asked the special court to issue an arrest warrant against him if he does not surrender within this period. The court also acquitted Salim’s wife Gulshan Ara Begum as she died in November 2020 during the pendency of her appeal against her three years jail term given by the same special court.
Gulshan Ara was sentenced for abetting and aiding Salim in possessing the illegal properties he acquired since 1991.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said that Salim could no longer remain an MP as per the Article 66(2)(d) of the Constitution as the HC upheld his 10 years’ jail sentence.
The lawyer also said the trial court will send Salim to jail if he surrenders to it. Salim will have to seek bail from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court after going to jail in this case, the ACC lawyer added.
Salim’s lawyer Sayed Ahmed Raza, however, said his client would move an appeal before the Appellate Division challenging the HC verdict.
The ACC on October 24, 2007 filed the case with the Lalbagh Police Station against Haji Salim on charge of possessing wealth worth Tk 269.2 million beyond his known source of income.
The trial court on April 27, 2008 sentenced Haji Salim to 13 years’ imprisonment in two charges in the case.
Salim filed the appeal petition in 2009 against the jail term handed down by the Special Judge’s Court-7 on April 27, 2008. The HC on January 2, 2011 acquitted him of the charges by cancelling the special court’s judgement.
On January 12, 2015 the Appellate Division, responding to an ACC appeal, cancelled the HC judgement that scrapped the special court verdict sentencing him to 13 years in jail and asked to hold rehearing of Haji Salim’s appeal petition in the High Court.
