Appellate Division stays HC bail for Rajshahi income tax officer

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed for three months a High Court order that granted bail to Rajshahi Deputy Tax Commissioner Mohibul Islam Bhuiyan in a corruption case.
A five-member bench of the apex court, headed Justice Obaidul Hassan, passed the order on Tuesday responding to a review plea filed by the lawyers of Mohibul.
During the hearing, Chief Justice observed that granting bail to a corrupt person is not welcomed by general people.
He said: "We talk about zero tolerance against corruption and at the same time, we seek bail for a corrupt official. None will welcome it if such persons are granted bail within three months of arrest. The court is liable to the society."
Senior lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the Anti Corruption Commission during the hearing while senior lawyer Mansurul Haque Chowdhury and Syed Ahmed moved for the accused tax official.
Earlier the apex court issued standover for two months the hearing of ACC plea that challenged an HC order granting bail to the accused.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) detained the senior income tax official as he was accepting Tk10 lakh – an instalment of Tk60 lakh – in bribes at the Rajshahi income tax office on April 4.
The ACC later filed a cased against him and sent him to a Rajshahi court, which ordered him to be sent to jail.