A special court in Dhaka Tuesday deferred to October 21 the pronouncement of its judgment in the graft  case against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others.

As Dhaka Special Judge (Court-4) Sheikh Nazmul Alam Khan has gone on leave,  acting judge Ali Hossain fixed October 21 as the new date.

On September 14, the court fixed October 5 as the judgment day in the graft case filed against the former chief justice and 10 others for laundering Tk 4 crore. This was after both the state lawyer and the defence counsel concluded their arguments.

On August 29, seven of the 11 accused in the case pleaded “not guilty” in the case.

They are Mahbubul Haque Chisty, former audit committee chairman of Farmers Bank, former managing director of the bank AKM Shamim, first vice presidents Swapan Kumar Rat and Md Lutful Haque, and former SEVPs Gazi Salahudiin, Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha.

On August 24, the defence lawyers grilled the investigating officer of the case, Benazir Ahmed, the director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Some 21 witnesses had testified in the case.

On July 10, 2019, the ACC filed the case accusing former chief justice SK Sinha and 10 others of accumulating illegal wealth and laundering Tk 4 crore.

On September 25, 2019, the anti-graft body summoned five officials of Farmers Bank for interrogation over the deposit of Tk 4 crore in CJ Sinha’s account with the Supreme Court branch of Sonali Bank.

On December 10, 2019, the investigation officer in the case filed a chargesheet against the 11 accused. On August 13, 2020, a court framed charges against the 11, including Sinha.