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The High Court on Tuesday upheld the lower court’s verdicts those awarded different terms of imprisonment to two senior leaders of BNP in graft cases filed against them during the army-led caretaker regime in 2007-2008.
The court also asked the two BNP leaders — Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, a member on the BNP standing committee, and Aman Ullah Aman, convener of BNP Dhaka City North unit – and Aman’s wife Sabera Aman to surrender before the lower court within two weeks.
An HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat delivered the verdict after dismissing the appeals filed by Aman, Tuku and Sabera challenging the lower court verdicts in the cases, said ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of amassing wealth beyond a known source of income in 2007.
On June 21, 2007, a special court sentenced Aman to 13 years jail in a case filed on charges of amassing wealth illegally and concealing wealth information. Sabera was also awarded three years in jail by the same court on charges of helping her husband in the offence.
In August 2010, following an appeal filed by the couple, the High Court acquitted them of the graft charges. But on May 26, 2014, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court cancelled the HC verdict and asked it to hold a fresh hearing on their appeals.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission on March 21, 2007, filed a case with Mohammadpur Police Station, accusing Tuku on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 2.57 crore and concealing wealth information.
A Dhaka special judge’s court, on November 15, 2007, convicted Tuku and sentenced him to a nine-year jail term in the case. But the HC on June 16, 2011, acquitted the BNP leader from the graft charges following his appeal.
