DHAKA: The High Court acquitted Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya in a graft case after scrapping the lower court verdict in which he had been sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

An HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Isalm Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam delivered the judgment after rehearing an appeal filed by Maya challenging the lower court judgment on Monday (October 8).

Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the Anti-Corruption Commission.  Lawyers Abdul Baset Majumdar, Dr Bashir Ahmed and Sayeed Ahmed Raja represented Maya. Deputy Attorney Generals Rona Nahreen and AKM Amin Uddin Manik stood for the state.

“The court accepted his (Maya) appeal. As a result, he was acquitted,” said lawyer Sayeed Ahmed Raja.

The ACC filed the case against Maya, for having untaxed assets worth Tk 62.92 million and keeping Tk 58.65 million in secret assets, with Sutrapur Police Station on June 13, 2007.

A special court convicted and sentenced him to 13 years in jail and fined him Tk 5 crore on February 14, 2008.

After submitting an appeal petition on May 25, 2009, HC acquitted him on October 27, 2010.

Later, the ACC filed the leave to appeal petition with the SC challenging the HC verdict in 2011.

On Jun 14, 2015, the Supreme Court scrapped the High Court verdict and ordered a rehearing of Maya’s appeal.

BDST: 1424 HRS, OCT 8, 2018

AH/SMS