The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has acquitted BNP leaders Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, and his son Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin in long-standing corruption cases filed nearly two decades ago by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
A six-member bench, led by the Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the verdict on Thursday, granting the appeals filed by the defendants and overturning previous convictions handed down by both the lower courts and the High Court.
Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin, Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal, and Barrister Ragib Rauf Chowdhury represented the accused, while Shahin Ahmed appeared on behalf of the ACC.
On March 6, 2007, the ACC filed a case with Gulshan Police Station against Mir Nasir and his son Mir Helal, accusing them of amassing illegal wealth and concealing asset information. On July 4 the same year, a special judge’s court sentenced Mir Nasir to 13 years in prison and Mir Helal to 3 years.
Both appealed the verdict, and in 2010, the High Court overturned the sentences. However, in July 2014, the Appellate Division scrapped the High Court’s ruling and ordered a fresh hearing.
Following a rehearing, the High Court in November 2019 reinstated the original prison sentences. In response, Mir Nasir and Mir Helal filed separate leave-to-appeal petitions in 2020. The Supreme Court granted their petitions and stayed the convictions. On Thursday, the Appellate Division quashed their sentences, effectively acquitting them.
In a separate case, former state minister for power Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku was accused in March 2007 of concealing information and the source of income for assets worth Tk 4.96 crore. The ACC filed the case with Mohammadpur Police Station.
Later that year, on November 15, a special court sentenced him to nine years in prison. Tuku appealed, and the High Court acquitted him on June 15, 2011.
The ACC challenged the acquittal, and on January 21, 2014, the Appellate Division overturned the High Court verdict and ordered a retrial. Tuku subsequently filed a review petition, which was dismissed. On July 26, 2023, the High Court, led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat, published the full verdict upholding the nine-year sentence.
Tuku was instructed to surrender within 15 days of receiving the verdict. As he failed to do so, an arrest warrant was issued on September 11, 2023. However, the Appellate Division has now overturned the conviction, bringing the case to a close in his favour.
