The High Court today granted anticipatory bail -- for five weeks -- to Pirojpur Sadar Municipality Mayor Md Habibur Rahman Malek and his wife Neela Rahman in two separate corruption cases.

The HC, however, directed Habibur and Neela to surrender to the trial court in five weeks in the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim came up with the orders following two separate petitions filed by the accused, seeking bail in the cases.

Earlier in the day, Habibur and Neela appeared before the HC bench seeking bail.

Lawyer Sheikh Awsafur Rahman appeared for the accused petitioners while lawyer AKM Fazlul Hoque represented the ACC.

The ACC, on March 18, filed the cases with its integrated district office of Barishal against Habibur and Neela.

In one case, the ACC alleged Mayor Habibur and his wife amassed illegal assets worth around Tk 36.34 crore.

In another case, the commission accused Habibur and 26 others of appointing 25 people to various posts in Pirojpur municipality through forgery, fraud, and abuse of power.

The accused have allegedly taken Tk 5 lakh from each of the 25 for their recruitment, lawyer Sheikh Awsafur Rahman told The Daily Star.