High Court Drops Asif Mahmud’s Writ Challenging ACC Briefings

The High Court has removed from its daily cause list a writ petition filed by former interim government adviser and National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, challenging the legality of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) briefings concerning corruption allegations against him.

The bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice SK Tahsin Ali passed the order on Monday, September 29, after taking up the petition for preliminary hearing.

Asif filed the writ on September 28, challenging an ACC statement that it had found “initial truth” in allegations of a “transfer, appointment and promotion trade” involving him and others.

The petition sought a declaration that ACC press briefings held on September 2 and 13 were beyond the commission’s legal authority. It also sought directions preventing the ACC from holding media briefings on matters under investigation or pending before courts and from making statements that could allegedly be defamatory.

The petition further requested the ACC to formally withdraw previously published statements with similar prominence.

According to the writ, an ACC deputy director said during a September 2 briefing that the commission had decided to investigate the allegations after finding “initial truth” in them. The petition argues that such a finding could only result from an inquiry and could not legally be declared at the initial stage of an investigation.

The petition also referred to a September 9 response from the ACC secretary, who reportedly described the statement as a “slip of the tongue.” The official concerned also allegedly acknowledged the error in a WhatsApp group of journalists.

Asif’s petition says no formal withdrawal was subsequently issued. It further claims that although he sent a legal notice to the ACC on September 10, the commission held another briefing on September 13, where additional allegations were raised concerning government appointments, postings, Dhaka WASA, development tenders and alleged overseas money laundering.

Asif Denies Allegations
In the writ petition, Asif described the allegations as baseless and untrue.

He argued that his additional charge at the Ministry of Youth and Sports was cancelled through a ministry order following a ruling by the Administrative Appellate Tribunal.

He also said that the promotion of 150 assistant youth development officers mentioned in the allegations took effect on May 11, 2026, nearly five months after he resigned from the interim government on December 11, 2025. He therefore claimed that he could not have been involved in the promotions.

The petition alleges that the ACC briefings were politically motivated and intended to damage his social and political reputation following his announcement of a candidacy for mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation.

It further claims that the briefings violated constitutional protections under Article 31 and conflicted with the Information Disclosure Policy, 2011.