False case against SK Sinha: Court asks to submit probe report by March 22

A Dhaka court on Thursday set March 22 for submitting the probe report in the case against former minister Barrister Nazmul Huda filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Dhaka Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes set the date, ACC General Recording Officer Abdus Salam said.

Earlier on Wednesday, ACC Director Syed Iqbal Hossain filed the case with its integrated district office, accusing Huda of lodging a false case against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.

"ACC filed a case against Nazmul Huda on June 18, 2008 as he lodged the false case against the chief justice in order to get rid of that case," the ACC director said.

On October 1, 2018, Nazmul Huda filed the case at Shahbagh Police Station against the former chief justice (CJ) bringing allegations of misuse of power and corruption.

In the case statement, Nazmul Huda said, "In 2017, inviting me at his personal chamber, former Chief Justice SK Sinha demanded a total of Tk3 crore bribe. He demanded the amount in exchange of my release from some cases and also releasing funds from bank. But I did not bribe him."

"To receive the bribe, Sinha revived a case against me, from which I had been relieved earlier. And he demanded Tk2 crore to discharge me from the revived case including another case, and also sought Tk1 crore to release the fund which was stuck in the bank," he continued at the case statement. 

"It was an attempt to take bribe," he added at the statement.

Later, the trial court sent the case to ACC for further investigation.

The ACC investigation found the allegations against SK Sinha false. On December 4, last year, discharging SK Sinha from the case, the national anti-graft watchdog submitted the final report.

At the same time, ACC decided to sue Nazmul Huda.