Appellate Division upholds Samrat’s bail cancellation order
He cannot be released from jail following the apex court order, although he secured bail in three other cases
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the High Court's order of cancelling the bail of Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, the expelled Jubo League leader, on the charge of amassing wealth illegally.
A three-judge bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman, Justice Borhanuddin, and Justice Krishna Debnath, issued the order on Wednesday.
Samrat cannot be released from jail following the apex court order, although he was granted bail in three other cases for arms, drugs, and money laundering, respectively.
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Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud stood for Samrat's bail plea while Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan opposed the bail plea.
Among the four cases against Samrat, he secured bail in a money laundering case and a possession of arms case on 10 April this year. On 11 April, he was also granted bail in a narcotics case.
Then on 11 May, Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman granted him bail in a case for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
He was released on 11 May from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital after securing bail in all the four cases, but stayed on in the hospital for medical treatment.
On 16 May, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) appealed to the High Court to cancel the bail order against a case filed in 2019.
On 18 May, a High Court bench led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder cancelled his bail and ordered him to surrender to the special judge's court within seven days.
Later, Samrat appealed to the Appellate Division for staying the High Court order.
After hearing the appeal, Chamber Judge M Enayetur Rahim on 23 May sent Samrat's plea to the regular bench of the Appellate Division for a hearing on 30 May.
On 6 October 2019, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Samrat from Cumilla for his ties to an illegal gambling racket.
Back then, RAB conducted a raid on Samrat's office in Kakrail's Bhuiyan Trade Centre and recovered a foreign pistol, yaba tablets, bottles of foreign liquor, and two kangaroo hides.
A mobile court handed Samrat a six-month prison sentence for possession of the kangaroo skins under the Wild Animal Protection Act and he was sent to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.
On 12 November that year, ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam filed a case against Samrat for illegally amassing wealth worth Tk2.95 crore. Following an investigation, Md Jahangir Alam filed the charge sheet for the case on 26 November 2020.
Later, two more cases were filed against him with Ramna Police Station, under the Narcotics Control Act and the Arms Act.
