HC drops Asif Mahmud's writ challenging ACC's 'initial truth' claim from cause list

The High Court has dropped from its daily cause list a writ petition filed by former interim government adviser and National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain challenging the legality of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) briefings on corruption allegations against him.

The bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice SK Tahsin Ali passed the order today (29 September) after taking up the petition for its preliminary hearing.

Meanwhile, Asif's lawyer, Advocate Zahirul Islam Musa, told reporters that several cases had been dropped from the cause list as it was the last working day of the vacation bench, but none of them had been dismissed.

He said the court would place the case before a new bench for hearing once the regular court resumes.

Asif filed the writ yesterday (28 September), challenging an ACC statement that it had found "initial truth" in allegations of a "transfer, appointment and promotion trade" involving him and others.

The petition sought a declaration that ACC press briefings held on 2 and 13 September were illegal and beyond the commission's legal authority. It also sought directions preventing the ACC from holding press briefings on matters under investigation or pending before the courts and from making what the petition described as defamatory statements through such briefings and the media.

The petition further sought an order requiring the ACC to issue a formal withdrawal notice, with the same prominence, for statements it had already made public.

Advocate Zahirul Islam Musa filed the petition at the relevant section of the High Court on Asif's behalf.

The ACC chairman, its deputy director (public relations officer) and assistant director (public relations officer) were made respondents.

According to the petition, an ACC deputy director said at a briefing at the commission's headquarters on 2 September that the ACC had decided to investigate allegations of a "transfer, appointment and promotion trade" involving Asif and others after finding "initial truth" in the allegations.

The petition argues that under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, a finding of "initial truth" could only emerge from the outcome of an inquiry and that the commission had no legal authority to make such a statement at the beginning of an investigation.

It further says that on 9 September, the ACC secretary described the statement as a "slip of the tongue" in response to questions from journalists, while the official concerned also acknowledged in a WhatsApp group of journalists that it had been an inadvertent error.

However, no formal and clear withdrawal of the statement was publicly issued, according to the petition.

Asif subsequently sent a legal notice to the ACC on 10 September, but the commission did not act on it and held another press briefing on 13 September, the petition says.

At that briefing, an ACC assistant director allegedly raised allegations involving the appointment of the Dhaka North City Corporation administrator, postings of deputy commissioners, Dhaka WASA, the Local Government Engineering Department, tenders for development projects and alleged money laundering abroad.

Asif denies allegations

In the writ, Asif claimed that the allegations were baseless and untrue.

Regarding the cancellation of his additional charge at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, he said the move was made through a ministry order following a ruling by the Administrative Appellate Tribunal.

He also argued that the promotion of 150 assistant youth development officers, cited in the allegations, took effect on 11 May 2026, nearly five months after he resigned from the interim government on 11 December 2025. Therefore, his involvement in the promotions was legally and factually impossible, he claimed.

The petition further alleges that the ACC briefings were politically motivated and intended to damage his social and political standing and conduct a "media trial" after he announced his candidacy for mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation.

It claims the briefings violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 31 of the Constitution and were contrary to the Information Disclosure Policy, 2011.