Both the conviction and the disposal rate of the corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission have fallen in the last one year, according to a commission statistics.
The lower courts disposed of only 341 cases in the last year. With this, the rate of disposal of ongoing cases stands at 10 percent.
The data shows that the accused have been sentenced in only 57.18 percent cases. An analysis of figures provided by the ACC over the past five years showed that the conviction rate last year was the lowest since 2019. Besides, the number of disposal of cases also decreased in the last year.
Experts opined that more than 40 percent of the accused have been acquitted in corruption cases due to various reasons, including the length of time in the trial process.
According to the commission report of 2023, a total of 38 cases dating back from the tenure of the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) were disposed of. Five people were sentenced in these cases, and 25 people were acquitted. The conviction rate in Bureau period cases is 13.16 percent.
A total of 303 cases of Anti-Corruption Commission have also been settled. Out of this only 190 cases have been sentenced. The conviction rate in Bureau period cases is 13.16 percent. So, the conviction rate in total 341 cases settled in 2023 stood at 57.18 percent. This figure is the lowest in the last 5 years. Apart from this, the case settlement rate is only 10 percent.
Comparing last years report with the 2022 report, it can be seen that in 2023, the conviction rate in ACC cases decreased by about 4 percent. According to the report, a total of 346 cases were settled in 2022. The average conviction rate was 60.98 percent. Among them, the conviction rate in commission period cases was 64.17 percent. And the conviction rate in Bureau period cases was 35.90 percent.
As per the data, a total of 203 corruption cases were settled in 2021. Among them, 193 cases of Anti-Corruption Commission.
The punishment rate is 60.10 percent. And 10 cases were settled during the Bureau period. The penalty rate is 30 percent. In all, 203 cases were disposed of, and the conviction rate was 58.62 percent.
It was learnt from the report that the conviction and disposal rate of the cases were higher even in 2019 comparing to the report of 2023.
According to the commission sources, at least 6,500 cases filed by the commission are currently pending before the various courts across the country for disposal. This number continues to grow as new cases are filed every day while the rate of verdicts and conviction remains sluggish.
According to the Supreme Court sources, a total of 3,422 cases related to corruption have been pending with the High Court for disposal. Among these, a total of 711 were pending as writ cases, 900 pending as criminal miscellaneous cases, 1,171 as criminal appeal cases while 640 pending as criminal revision cases. Besides, a total of 503 cases were pending with the Appellate Division for disposal.
Meanwhile, 359 cases filed by the ACB are still pending with different courts. Among those, the proceedings of 177 cases have been stayed by the High Court. Another 182 cases are under trial.
As part of the process, the ACC files cases against politicians, businessmen, current and former government officials, and their family members on various charges, including possession of assets outside of known income, income tax evasion and corruption, bribery, embezzlement of government money, corruption, and money laundering.
Regarding the lower conviction, former Director General of ACC (Legal) and retired District and Sessions Judge Moidul Islam said, "Several factors work behind the decrease in punishment. Among these, weakness of the investigation, merit of cases was not good, lawyer was negligent; the witness may not have been produced properly. This can be due to various reasons. ACC should look into these issues."
Chief lawyer of the ACC Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan, who dealt with the ACC case in the HC, said, "We are looking into the matter of reduction in the punishment rate. We will take measures to increase the rate of punishment."
Regarding delay, senior ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajal said: "Once a case is filed, it is no longer in the ACCs hands.
They fall under the jurisdiction of the court. The courts dispose of those cases in their own way. Case proceedings are prolonged due to various reasons, including the non-appearance of witnesses. But if the case is prolonged, the sufferings of all parties involved will increase. But everything depends on the will of the court."
