ACC's wrong probe: HC scraps conviction, orders action against IO

The High Court on Thursday scrapped the conviction and 15 years' jail sentence of an innocent man of Noakhali by a lower court in a case over SSC's certificate forgery investigated by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

The court also asked the authorities concerned to take action against the investigation officer after recalling the arrest warrant against the victim.

An HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice M Mostafiur Rahman  pronounced the judgement disposing of a writ petition filed by the victim in October 2020.

On January 26, the ACC submitted a statement to the HC during hearing on a writ petition and admitted that it had a mistake, terming it a 'bonafide mistake'.

According to the case document, the ant--graft body filed a case against Mohammad Kamrul Islam, hails from Purba Rajarampur of Noakhali, with Sudharam police in January 2003 for getting admitted to the Maijdee Public College in 1998-99 session through fake SSC number sheet and testimonial.    

But, the seized application for admission shows Kamrul's date of birth is January 1, 1979 and he is from Paschim Rajarampur.

After investigation, the ACC on November 28, 2013 submitted a charge sheet against Mohammad Kamrul Islam to a trial court mentioning his village Purba Rajarampur.

On November 26, 2014, the trial court sentenced him to five year's imprisonment each under three sections in the case on the basis of the ACC probe report. It also fined him Tk 10,000 each under three sections.

The court later issued an arrest warrant against him.

In October 2020, Kamrul filed a writ petition with the HC saying that the ACC had implicated him in 2003 and he was sentenced by he lower court in 2014.

His lawyer said the actual accused was hiding abroad and his client was implicated intentionally to save him.

According to a certificate attached to the petition, Kamrul, an MLSS of Noakhali Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, was born on October 15, 1990 and he passed SSC from Noakhali's Harinathpur High School in 2006.

The High Court on November 5, 2020, asked the police not to arrest or harass the innocent man until his writ petition was disposed of.

LY