Graft case: No legal bar to continue trial proceedings against Moudud

The High Court today cleared the way for the lower court to continue the trial proceedings of a corruption case against BNP standing committee member and former Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed.

Anti-Corruption Commission 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.

The HC today rejected a writ petition filed by Barrister Moudud challenging the legality of the ACC’s interpretation about his incomes in the case.In the petition filed on March 22, Moudud Ahmed prayed to the HC to stay the trial proceedings of the case.

The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnathpassed the rejection order considering that the petition was not placed before it properly.

Moudud Ahmed told The Daily Star that the ACC has mentioned in the case that he (Moudud) has concealed the information about his wealth worth Tk 4 crore, although his asset is much less than his lawful income.

The barrister also said the ACC has given interpretation of his income and neat income in the case although the commission has no jurisdiction to make such interpretation.

ACC’s lawyer Advocate KhurshidAlam Khan told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for the lower court to continue the trial against Moudud following the HC order.

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