Dhaka: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for reviving the stalled trial of the graft case against six people, including Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, over selling 18 abandoned government houses in the capital on a ‘fake’ auction.

A three-member Appellate Division Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the orders upon two separate appeals filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

Emerging from the court, Khurshid Alam Khan, the counsel for the ACC, told reporters that the apex court disposed of the ACC leave petitions overturning the High Court orders that had set aside the case proceedings.

During the military-backed caretaker interim government, the ACC filed the case with Motijheel Police Station on March 29, 2007.

According to the case statement, the accused in connivance with each other sold 18 abandoned government houses on a ‘fake’ auction at prices much lower than the market ones.

The houses, located in the city’s posh areas like Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi and New Eskaton, were sold bypassing an open auction, causing a loss of Tk 127.64 crore to the national exchequer.