The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a High Court order that granted six months' bail to Regent Group Chairman and Regent Hospital owner Mohammad Shahed Karim in a graft case.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Burhanuddin passed the order after hearing a leave to appeal petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission challenging the High Court order.
However, Regent Group Chairman Mohammad Shahed Karim cannot be released from jail as he has other cases filed against him.
On September 14, the High Court approved a six-month bail to Shahed Karim in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of illegally amassing wealth.
A High Court bench of Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman passed the order after Shahed Karim appealed against a lower court’s ruling of three years in jail.
Earlier on August 21, he was sentenced to three years in jail by a Dhaka court for failing to provide a wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, indicating an unaccounted wealth of Tk1.69 crore.
In total, Shahed faces charges in 24 cases, having been granted bail in 23 of them.
Meanwhile, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said they will challenge the High Court's decision in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
The High Court gave Shahed bail due to his brief prison sentence, he noted.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case against Shahed on March 1, 2021.
Shahed was arrested in Satkhira’s Debhata upazila on July 15, 2020 as he attempted to leave the country.
