DHAKA: The Supreme Court has upheld a High Court order that stayed the trial proceedings of a corruption case filed against former minister of textiles and jute Latif Siddique.

The apex court also asked the HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque to hear and dispose of the rule within six months. 

A virtual bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order on Thursday (July 16).

Earlier on February 26, the High Court bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque stayed for six months the trial proceedings of the graft case filed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against Abdul Latif Siddique.

The HC bench passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Siddique challenging the legality of charge framing in the case.

Later ACC filed an appeal with the apex court against the HC order. 

On October 17 in 2017, Aminul Islam, the assistant director of the ACC's Bogra branch, filed the case against Siddique and Jahanara with Adamdighi police station.

According to case details, Latif Siddique misused his power vested upon him as the jute and textiles minister and sold 2.38 acres of land owned by the Bangladesh Jute Corporation in Bogra's Adamdighi upazila to one Jahanara Rashid in 2011, without floating any tender.

He sold the land at a price far lower than the original market price. By selling the land, Siddiqui incurred a loss of Tk40.70 lakh to the public exchequer.

The other accused of the case, Jahanara, was the buyer of that land.

BDST: 1345 HRS, JULY 16, 2020
AP/SMS