Morshed, Monju get HC bail

The High Court Monday granted bails to two bigwig graft convicts former, Communications Minister Anwar Hossain Manju of JP and Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan of BNP, in graft cases, reports UNB. A division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Mian and Justice M Marzi-ul-Huq passed the orders following separate petitions.The bails will remain valid until the disposal of their appeals pending with the High Court against their sentence and conviction awarded by trial courts, according to the HC orders.Tried in absentia amid a crackdown on graft suspects after the 1/11 changeover, Manju was jailed for 32 years in separate cases, including bribery and amassing wealth illegally, while Morshed Khan was sentenced to 13 years for accumulating wealth illegally.In compliance with the recent Supreme Court orders, fugitive convicts Manju and Morshed surrendered to the lower courts on May 6 and 10 respectively. The courts sent them to jail for serving the sentences denying their bail prayers. Both the convicts filed separate bail petitions from the jail before the High Court in compliance with the recent Supreme Court orders that had asked the fugitive convicts to surrender to their respective trial courts. Earlier, the High Court refused to grant bails to a dozen of bigwig fugitive convicts as they sought bails in corruption cases after surrender to it by dodging their respective trial courts.