Bangladesh: Dismissed for corruption by Hasina govt, top anti-corruption official reinstated by Yunus regime

Dhaka, July 9 (IANS) Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday ruled the dismissal order of former Deputy Assistant Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Sharif Uddin from his post as illegal and proceeded to order his reinstatement with seniority and other benefits.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Rezaul Hasan and Justice Biswajit Debnath passed the order after the final hearing of Sharif Uddin's writ petition regarding the legality of his dismissal, local media reported.

Speaking to Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Alo following the verdict, senior lawyer Salah Uddin Dolan, who represented Sharif, said that the High Court declared the dismissal null and void and ordered his reinstatement within 30 days with seniority and all benefits.

The decision to file the appeal will be made after the verdict is communicated to the ACC, said Asif Hasan, ACC lawyer.

Sharif was removed from service on February 16, 2022 during the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime without assigning any reason.

It was reported that several charges of corruption were later brought against him.

Following this, he filed a writ petition on March 13 of the same year, pleading for reinstatement and challenging the validity of Rule 54(2) of the ACC Employee Rules, which deals with the removal of an employee from service without assigning any reason.

The High Court issued a rule on February 6 last year after the preliminary hearing, asking for the reason that the order to dismiss Sharif from the post of Deputy Assistant Director of the ACC would not be considered illegal. Additionally, the rule asked why he should not be reinstated in the job with salary and all benefits. The respondents, including the ACC, were directed to respond to the rule.

The court delivered its verdict on Wednesday, a day after the hearing, reinstating Shariff in his job.

After assuming power last year in August, the interim government under Yunus has reportedly allegedly provided shelter to various corrupt, radical and extremist Islamic leaders.

The unceremonious exit of Hasina last August was globally seen as a major setback to the democratic set-up in the country.

--IANS

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