DHAKA: The High Court (HC) has ordered to send all the records of corruption case of former president and Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad to the Chief Justice. 

The HC bench of Justice Ruhul Quddus issued the order on Thursday (March 22), as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also filed two appeals for increasing Ershad’s punishment. 

On March 9, the HC bench fixed March 23 to deliver the verdict after concluding hearing on the appeal in the graft case. 

However, the court ordered to send all records of the appeals of the ACC to Chief Justice SK Sinha instead of delivering the verdict. 

Advocate Sheikh Sirajul Islam moved for Ershad in the court, while Advocate Khurshid Alam moved on behalf of the ACC.   

Earlier a trial court awarded three years’ imprisonment to Ershad in the corruption case. Ershad filed the appeal in the higher court challenging the lower court’s judgment.   

According to the case statement, on January 8 in 1991, the deputy director Saleh Uddin Ahmed of the then Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC), which became obsolete after formation of the ACC in 2004, filed the case against Ershad with the Cantonment police station.

In the case, it was said that Ershad is accused of misappropriating gifts worth of Tk 1.91 crore belonged to the state funds during his regime from December 11 in 1983 to December 6 in 1990. 

On February 3 in 1992, Ershad was convicted and sentenced for 3-year imprisonment in the case by a special Judge court in Dhaka. Later, Ershad filed an appeal with the HC challenging the verdict. In response, HC stayed the verdict.

On June 26 in 2012, the ACC became a party in the case following directive of a bench of the High Court. 

BDST: 1625 HRS, MAR 23, 2017
EHJ/AP