Court Rejects Bail for Former Justice Manik in Two Corruption Cases

A Dhaka court has rejected the bail petitions of retired Supreme Court Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik in two separate cases involving the accumulation of wealth beyond known sources of income and the misappropriation of a residential plot through the abuse of power. Judge Md. Sabbir Foyez of the Dhaka Senior Special Judge's Court passed the order on Tuesday (May 19) afternoon following a formal hearing.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecutor Mohammad Tariqul Islam confirmed the development, stating that the defense lawyers had moved separate bail applications for both cases. The prosecution strongly opposed the bail petitions, leading the court to dismiss the pleas after examining the case materials. The lawsuits were originally filed by ACC Deputy Assistant Director Abdullah Al Mamun at the ACC Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1.

According to the first case statement, during his tenure as a Supreme Court judge, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik allegedly abused his official position to illegally accumulate wealth worth Taka 5,39,66,820, which is completely disproportionate to his known legal sources of income. Consequently, the ACC initiated the lawsuit under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, the Money Laundering Prevention Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The second criminal case implicates the former jurist alongside several high-profile co-accused, including Kashmiri Kamal, wife of former Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal; former RAJUK Chairman Engineer Md. Nurul Huda; former RAJUK Member (Finance) Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique; Member (Development) M. Mahbubul Alam; former RAJUK Chairman GM Zainal Abedin Bhuiyan; and former RAJUK Member Abdul Hai.

The prosecution in this case alleges that the accused individuals mutually conspired and abused their administrative powers to fraudulently misappropriate a residential plot originally allotted to another legitimate recipient within the Purbachal New Town Project managed by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).