Abbas to walk out of jail

The Supreme Court today upheld a High Court verdict that granted bail to BNP leader Mirza Abbas in a corruption case, clearing the way for his release from jail.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order dismissing an appeal filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against the HC verdict.

Sagir Hossain Leon, lawyer for Abbas, told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar to his client’s release from the custody following today’s SC order.

Abbas was sent to jail on January 6 when he surrendered to a lower court in connection with the case.

ACC filed the case against Mirza Abbas, housing and public works minister of the then BNP-led four-party alliance government, with Shahbagh Police Station on March 6, 2014 on charge of causing the state a loss of Tk 16 crore by allocating seven acres of Rajuk's land to a journalists' cooperative society at a lower rate.

Following a petition filed by Abbas, the HC on March 9 granted him bail in the case.