UNBconnect...

Niko scam case against PM declared null and void
Reported by: UNBconncet
Reported on: Mar 11, 2010 07:39 pm
Reported in: National

Dhaka, Mar 11 (UNB)-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina now steered clear of another graft charge as the High Court Thursday declared null and void the Niko scam case filed against her during the immediate-past army-backed caretaker government’s rule.The higher court quashed the case for “ends of justice” as the lower court “didn’t apply its judicial mind” in taking cognizance of the charge sheet.Delivering the judgment upon a petition, a division bench comprising Justice M Shamsul Huda and Justice Abu Bakar Siddiquee struck down the entire trial-court proceedings, terming those “illegal” and “unlawful”.On December 9 in 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the Niko scam case against Sheikh Hasina with Tejgaon police station amid a crackdown on former ruling politicians in the interim period following the 1/11 changeover. According to the charge sheet, the accused, “in collusion with one another” awarded gas-extraction works in Chhatak, Kamta and Feni gas fields to Niko Resources Ltd., a Canadian oil company, “to gain personal financial benefit”. The deals caused a colossal loss of ‘Tk 13,630.50 crore’ to the state exchequer.On July 7, 2008, the High Court, following a petition filed by Sheikh Hasina, stayed the proceedings of the Niko graft case and issued rule upon the ACC to explain why the case “should not be quashed”. Hasina in her petition had challenged the validity of the ACC filing the case against her, as the ACC sanction before the filing of the case was not done in accordance with section 32 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 and section 15 of its rules 2007.The HC in its judgment termed mechanical both the ACC sanction before the filing of the case and the trial court talking cognizance of the charge sheet. Both the actions were taken “in flagrant violation” of section 32 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 and section 15 of its rules 2007.“There was no valid sanction in accordance with the law for taking the First Information Report (FIR) as per the ACC law and its rules. Unfortunately, the trial-court judge committed illegality as he did not apply his judicial mind in this regard,” says the HC in its elaborate observations in setting aside the high-profile case.The HC further observed that the corruption case was filed against Sheikh Hasina in a bid to taint her political image in public. “Though the judges are blind, but they are not deaf and dumb--they are not isolated from society and have the faculty of understanding the real picture of the society,” the court said.The HC judges went on to say that a vested quarter was behind the scene who wanted to execute ‘minus-two’ formula by using the ACC as a weapon, amid a political topsy-turvy following the 1/11 changeover. “Even they wanted to keep Sheikh Hasina out of politics.”In another major development, the High Court found flaws in the ACC law and its rules related to instituting corruption case and asked the anti-graft watchdog body to make amendment to the law and rules after a thorough vetting. The same day, on December 9 in 2007, a separate Niko case was filed with the same police station by the anti-graft watchdog against another former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, now leader of the opposition in parliament, for allegedly causing huge loss to the public exchequer through signing deals with the Canadian oil company while she was in power.The charges were made under section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 109 (abetment) of the penal code and 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947.According to the charge sheet, the accused persons in collaboration with one another struck an anti-state "joint-venture agreement" with Niko, causing a loss of Tk 13,777 crore to the state coffers. The case against Khaleda Zia and others is now on the backburner following a High Court order of stay on the case proceedings upon a quashing petition filed by the BNP chairperson.Barrister Rafuque-ul Huq, Abdul Matin Khasru and Barrister Fazle Noor Tapash MP appeared for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while advocate Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the ACC.

Home
View Full Site