Graft case: Spl court rulings limit ACC's ability to quiz accused

The scope for quizzing the accused in corruption cases, especially those filed over major financial scams, becomes narrow for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as the Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka is rejecting pleas to remand the accused despite having the jurisdiction.

In recent orders, the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka allowed the ACC to quiz the accused only at the jail gate.

However, it is not possible to extract accurate information from the accused by interrogating them at the jail gate, according to ACC investigators.

Hundreds of financial scams took place in the country during the Awami League regime in the last 16 years.

Although a large number of the scammers fled the country after the regime's fall on August 5 last year, many are being detained and arrested by law enforcers. The ACC feels the need to quiz them to unearth detailed information about the scams but is unable to do so.

On February 6 this year, the ACC produced Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, former chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), before the court with a 10-day remand prayer in connection with a corruption case filed against him and others.

However, the court sent him to jail and allowed the commission to interrogate him at the jail gate for a day within seven days.

The court passed the same order for Masud Biswas, former head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU); Engineer Golam Mohammad Alamgir, chairman of Max Group; and Matiur Rahman, former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and his wife Laila Kaniz.

The same court has lots of precedents for placing the accused on remand in corruption cases.

During recent orders, Judge of the Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka Md Zakir Hossain said magistrate courts would exercise the jurisdiction of granting remand for the accused and it is not a proper exercise for the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court.

However, ACC lawyers argued that the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Rules 2019 has conferred this power on the Senior Special Judge's Court.

Finally, the court said it will reject the remand prayers and asked the ACC lawyers to move the High Court if they want.

Meanwhile, ACC lawyers have already decided to take the matter to the High Court, one of them told The Financial Express on condition of anonymity.

The lawyer said they have already filed petitions with the Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka for certified copies of its orders rejecting remand prayers.

After getting the certified copies, a petition will be filed with the High Court challenging the rejection orders, he added.

Md Akhtar Hossain, ACC director general (prevention), said it is a matter under the court's jurisdiction.

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