SC orders Sonali Bank to compensate defendant in 40-year-old fake case

After a 40-year legal battle, Harendranath Chandra, an elderly man from Kushtia, has finally secured justice. It has been conclusively proved that Sonali Bank, his former employer, had filed a false case against him four decades ago.

While Harendranath Chandra initially secured a favourable verdict in the High Court, the state-owned bank authorities moved an appeal against it. The Appellate Division yesterday upheld the High Court decision, bringing the prolonged legal dispute to an end.

The Appellate Division also ordered that the elderly defendant be compensated with Tk20 lakh for the harassment and legal expenses caused by the false allegations. Sonali Bank has been directed to pay the amount within three months and submit a compliance report to the court.

On Monday, a three-judge bench led by senior Appellate Division Judge Md Ashfaqul Islam delivered the verdict. Barrister Omar Faruk represented Harendranath Chandra in court.

Lawyers described the ruling as historic, noting that there are very few precedents of Supreme Court verdicts awarding compensation to victims of false cases from the plaintiffs. They believe such rulings will significantly reduce the filing of baseless cases.

According to case documents, Harendranath Chandra, a resident of Helalpur village in Khoksa, Kushtia, spent 40 years – half of his life – battling the case in court.

Four decades ago, he and eight others were accused of embezzling Tk16 lakh from the bank. Despite being acquitted, the Sonali Bank authorities appealed, prolonging the case.

After completing his BA, Harendranath Chandra joined Sonali Bank in Dhaka as a cashier-cum-clerk in December 1979 and was promoted to senior cashier-cum-clerk after three years, later transferring to the Jatrabari branch.

In 1985, a remittance of Tk16.16 lakh was transferred from the branch to the local office, with receipt confirmed in writing. However, a subsequent internal investigation claimed the funds were missing. 

Later that year, the bank filed a departmental case against Harendranath and eight others for embezzlement, suspending them in March 1986.

In February 1986, a court in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, sentenced Harendranath to seven years in prison in another case for failing to deposit a customer's money. Several others were also sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. He was released from prison in 1990.

Earlier, in July 1985, the then Anti-Corruption Bureau filed a criminal case against Harendranath and eight others with the Dhaka Special Court on charges of embezzlement. However, in November 1986, all the accused, including Harendranath, were acquitted.

After losing the case, the bank authorities secretly filed another case against Harendranath and the others in the Money Loan Court in 1988. In a unilateral verdict, the court found them guilty and ordered them to repay the entire amount.

Harendranath filed an appeal (miss case) against this verdict, and in August 1992, the Joint District Judge's Court of Dhaka accepted the appeal and quashed the trial court's order.

Sonali Bank later appealed this verdict with the High Court in 2019, but the High Court dismissed the appeal in August 2022. The bank then filed a leave to appeal against the High Court's verdict on 5 February last year.