Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the sections of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Rules that curtailed police’s authority to directly record corruption cases should not be declared unconstitutional.
The High Court Bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Advocate Abdul Qaiyum Khan and Advocate Mamtaz Parveen appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petitioner while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the State.
Law Secretary, Home Secretary, Parliament Secretariat Secretary, ACC Chairman, IGP and ACC Secretary have been asked to comply with the rule in four weeks.
The Anti-Corruption Commission issued a new gazette on June 20 this year after amending the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules-2007 where the new provisions were included.
It has been said in the amended rules that a citizen can lodge a graft allegation with a police station, but the police cannot record the allegation as a case.
The police station will accept the allegation as a General Diary (GD) and will send the GD to the ACC and then the ACC will record the GD as a case and conduct enquiry into the case, Advocate Subir Nandi said.
The people’s right to lodge corruption case with the police station has been damaged due to the Sections of the new Anti-Corruption Commission Rules which is against the Sections 35 and 65(1) of the Constitution and Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Advocate Subir Nandi Das said.
Two Supreme Court lawyers, Advocate Subir Nandi Das and Barrister Noshin Nowal, jointly submitted the petition on November 13 this year praying to the HC to scrap the Sections concerned of the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules.
