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Sigma, Mir Helal

SC upholds HC bail orders

Staff Correspondent
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday upheld the High Court (HC) orders granting ad interim bail to Sigma Huda, wife of former communications minister Nazmul Huda, and Mir Helaluddin, son of ex-state minister for civil aviation Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, in two separate corruption cases.
The orders of the HC were upheld as the six-member full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin dismissed the leave to appeals filed against the HC orders by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan, counsel for the ACC, told The Daily Star that the apex court dismissed the ACC's appeals and upheld the HC orders since their appeals against the special court verdict were not disposed of in the stipulated 90 days.
On June 5, following two separate bail petitions from Sigma Huda and Mir Helaluddin, the HC granted both of them three NEWS
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months' ad interim bail.
Die case against Sigma and her husband was filed by the ACC with Dh&nmondi Police Station on March 21 last year under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), stating that the couple received Tk 2.4 crore in bribe from the proprietor of a construction firm. The corruption watchdog pressed charges against them on June 4 the same year.
Later that year, on August 27, a special court sentenced Sigma to three years' simple imprisonment and Nazrnul to seven years' rigorous imprisonment for their involvement in the bribery.
The case against Helal and his father Mir Nasir was filed by the ACC with Gulshan Police Station on March 6 last year under the EPR. Helal was accused of abetting his father while the father was accused of amassing weal th illegally.
On July 4 the same year, a special court handed down three years prison term to Helal for helping his father conceal ill-gotten property by withdrawing Tk 5.64 crore from a joint bank account of his family and depositing the amount into the accounts of his wife and mother-in-law.
Nasir was given 18 years' rigorous imprisonment for amassing wealth illegally and three years' simple imprisonment for concealing wealth information worth over Tk 6.72 crore to the ACC.
On December 13 last year, the HC granted bail to Sigma and Helal in the two cases following their separate petitions.
This year on March 6, the ACC appealed to the Appellate Division against the HC orders, seeking cancellation of the bail orders.
The Appellate Division in its ruling on March 6 said that appellate courts, including the HC, do not have the jurisdiction of grant-
ing bail to individuals convicted by special courts, trying cases filed under the EPR.
The apex court, however, said that an appellate court may grant bail on three grounds: if the appellant was given short prison terms, if their appeal against the special court's sentence was not disposed of in the stipulated 90 days or if a duly constituted medical board certified that the appellant was ill.
Both Sigma and Helal had filed the bail petitions on the ground that the court can grant them bail since their appeals against the conviction order were not disposed of in the stipulated 90 days.
Advocate Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmed represented Helal while barrister Rafique-ul Huq represented Sigma yesterday.