The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is currently awaiting the disposal of over 6,500 cases across various courts. This number continues to grow as new cases are filed every day while the rate of verdicts remains sluggish.
Of the nearly 3,000 cases filed by the ACC in the past, only 303 cases were disposed of last year. With this, the rate of disposal of ongoing cases stands at 10%.
Besides, 38 cases dating back from the tenure of the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) were settled at the same time. Currently, 359 cases of the bureau are still pending in different courts of the country.
Overall, 341 cases filed by the commission and bureau were settled last year. This leaves another 3,353 cases of the commission and the bureau yet to be settled, according to a report of the anti-graft body.
The report, signed by ACC Deputy Director of Prosecution (General) Md Mostafizur Rahman on January 9, 2024, states that 2,994 cases filed by the commission were pending with different courts of the country till December 2023.
Among the ACC cases, 2,745 are under trial while 249 cases have been suspended by the High Court. Last year, 303 cases were disposed of and 20 other cases were settled in various ways. Besides, 93 of the accused in different cases were acquitted of charges and 190 others were sentenced to various terms and were fined.
Meanwhile, 359 cases filed by the ACB are still pending with different courts. Among those, the proceedings of 177 cases have been suspended by the High Court. Another 182 cases are under trial.
Those concerned believe that these cases are pending due to various reasons, including the suspension of the High Court. In the past year, 38 cases filed by the bureau were disposed of. Five people were sentenced in these cases, and 25 people were acquitted.
In 2022, the total number of cases by the commission and the bureau that were pending at the courts was 3,326. In 2023, another 368 cases were filed across the country.
Among the cases that were disposed of in the lower court in 2023 was a graft case against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and his mother in-law Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu. On August 2, 2023, the court sentenced Tarique Rahman to three and a half years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Tk3 crore. The court sentenced him to another three months imprisonment in default of payment of the fine. His wife Zubaida Rahman was also sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and was fined Tk35 lakh by the court. Zubaida was sentenced to another month in prison in default of payment of the fine. The court acquitted Tarique Rahman's mother-in-law from the case.
Besides, the owner and managing director of Paragon Printing and Packaging Limited and Max Packaging Limited, Saiful Islam, Oriental Bank’s Senior Vice President Shah Md Harun, the former assistant vice president of the Banani branch of Mutual Trust Bank, the Centre Manager of Privilege Centre Zahid Sarwar, the proprietor of M/s Shofique Trading and Company Limited, Rafiqul Alam, and his associate Abdus Samad were sentenced to different terms. Others sentenced by the courts are Gopalganj Assistant Sub Registrar Enayet Hossain, Assistant Land Officer (union parishad) Tajul Islam, district Primary Education Officer Anisur Rahman, Additional General Manager of Janata Bank, Shami Ullah, Deputy Tax Commissioner of Chittagong City Corporation Ali Akbar, Principal Officer of Rupali Bank's Poddarbazar Branch in Lakshmipur, Abdul Latif Bhuiyan, Chief Office Assistant of Narcotics Control Department of Bogra, Khaybar Rahman, and the director of Japan-Bangladesh Securities and Printing Papers Limited, Md Salim Pradhan.
As part of the process, the ACC files cases against politicians, businessmen, current and former government officials, and their family members on various charges, including possession of assets outside of known income, income tax evasion and corruption, bribery, embezzlement of government money, corruption, and money laundering.
Regarding delay, senior ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajal said: “Once a case is filed, it is no longer in the ACC's hands. They fall under the jurisdiction of the court. The courts dispose of those cases in their own way. Case proceedings are prolonged due to various reasons, including the non-appearance of witnesses. But if the case is prolonged, the sufferings of all parties involved will increase. But everything depends on the will of the court.”
ACC Secretary Mahbub Hossain said: "When the case goes to court, the ACC has nothing to do."