Gulam Rabbani :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is making the same mistake repeatedly. This time an ‘innocent’ person has been convicted for investigation fault.
Moahammad Kamrul Islam, a resident of Maijdee upazila in Noakhali district, is lucky enough because he didn’t serve a single day though he was sentenced to 15 years jail in the trial.
The High Court on Thursday cancelled the 15 years’ jail sentence given to him instead of a real accused in a graft case.
Earlier another wrong accused, Jahlam, was arrested due to the ACC’s investigation fault and he had to serve in jail more than three years. Finally Jahlam was also released from the jail after intervention by the High Court.
In the two cases, the anti-graft body admitted their faults in the High Court. After the latest High Court order on Thursday ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said, “The investigation officer had made this mistake on good faith. If the investigating officer is found to make an intentional mistake, appropriate departmental action must be taken against him or her.”
During yesterday’s (Thursday) verdict the High Court also ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to reinvestigate the case.
It also asked the ACC to take departmental proceedings against the officials who would be found responsible in charging an ‘innocent’ person in the case instead of the real accused.
And if ‘innocent’ Mohammad Kamrul Islam appeals to the ACC seeking compensation, the High Court has asked the ACC to consider it.
The High Court Bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman delivered the verdict after holding hearing on a writ petition filed by Mohammad Kamrul Islam challenging the conviction given to him in the case.
Advocate Minhazul Hoque Chowdhury appeared in the court on behalf of ‘innocent’ Kamrul, while advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
Later Advocate Minhazul Hoque said, “The High Court issued a ruling over cancelling the conviction given to Mohammad Kamrul Islam instead of the real accused. After hearing from both the parties the court declared the ruling absolute.”
Mohammad Kamrul Islam cannot be arrested on the basis of a warrant of conviction and cannot be harassed in any way following the High Court verdict, added the lawyer.
This lawyer also said, “The High Court has cancelled the verdict given by the special court of Noakhali. The court at the same time recalled the warrant of conviction issued by the special court. It also asked the ACC to reinvestigate the case.”
A special judge of Noakhali convicted an accused whose name is also Kamrul Islam for 15 years in jail in the case.
Bureau of Anti-Corruption filed the case in 2003 against Kamrul Islam of ‘West Rajarampur’ under Maijdee upazila on charge of forging SSC certificate during his admission in a college in the session of 1998-1999. The ACC submitted the charge sheet on November 28 in 2013.
Special court of Noakhali declared the verdict in the case in 2014 and sentenced the accused for 15 years in jail.
Sensing police action after the verdict, Mohammad Kamrul Islam filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2020 challenging the verdict. After primary hearing the High Court issued a ruling over cancelling the verdict against the petitioner.
During the hearing in the High Court, the ACC admitted their fault saying that the investigation officer mentioned ‘East Rajarampur’ as the village address of the accused though the real name of the village is ‘West Rajarampur’. The same fault was held in the charge sheet.
After completing the hearing, the High Court delivered the verdict on Thursday.
In the writ petition the ‘innocent’ Kamrul Islam said that he was born on January 15 in 1990 and passed the SCC examination in 2006 from Horinarayanpur High School. He could not get admission in the college due to financial crisis. Later in 2008 he joined as a MLSS in the Laxmipur court and now he is working in Noakhali court.
“But the real accused Kamrul Islam passed the SCC in 1998, said the case document. Then my age was only 8,” also mentioned in the writ petition.
