After announcing a stay order and issuing rule, the High Court yesterday fixed December 14 for passing a further order on a petition filed by former BNP minister Moudud Ahmed challenging a lower court order in a land-grabbing case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The ACC and the state side claimed that Moudud had moved the petition without informing them.
The case was filed by the ACC with Gulshan police on December 17 last year against Moudud and his brother Manjur Ahmed on charge of grabbing a government land worth over Tk300 crore in Gulshan of the capital by abusing power and submitting forged documents.
On September 14, a Dhaka court accepted the charges in the case. Moudud in November filed a revision petition with the High Court challenging the lower court order that accepted the charges.
After hearing arguments of Moudud and Deputy Attorney General Farhad Ahmed on the petition yesterday, the bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha stayed the lower court order. The court also also issued a rule upon the ACC and the government to explain as to why acceptance of the charges should not be cancelled.
Later in the day, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan approached the bench and said they would place arguments on the petition.
The attorney general requested the bench for recalling (withdrawal) of the order and fix December 14 for further hearing and passing order.
The ACC lawyer told the Dhaka Tribune: “Moudud moved the petition without informing us. We got a copy of his petition half an hour after the court order.”
Mahbubey Alam also said they had not been informed in advance.
When contacted over phone repeatedly, Moudud disconnected the calls.
