The Supreme Court today stayed till May 13 the High Court proceedings on the rule regrading compensation to Jaha Alam who was wrongly in prison for three years because of an identity mess-up.

Jute mill worker Jaha Alam, who had been wrongly languishing in jail since February 2016, was released on February 4 this year following a HC directive.

He was arrested in connection with cases filed by the ACC for misappropriation of Sonali Bank money. The HC exonerated him from the charges on February 3.

Today, chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice Md Nuruzzaman passed the stay order following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission seeking stay on the HC hearing on the issue.

The apex court chamber judge also sent the stay petition to its full bench for hearing the same on May 13.

The ACC submitted the stay petition to the SC on April 21 saying that the HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader, who issued the suomoto (voluntary) rule regrading Jaha Alam, have no jurisdiction to deal with the ACC’s cases, ACC’s lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

He said Jaha Alam was arrested in connection with the corruption cases filed by the ACC.

Replying to a question, Advocate Khurshid said the ACC in its stay petition did not challenge the HC order for releasing Jaha Alam from jail.   

Following the newspaper report, the HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader on January 28 this year issued the suomoto rule asking the ACC and government why they should not be directed to compensate Jaha Alam for his wrongly suffering in jail for three years in connection with the ACC’s cases.

During hearing on the rule on March 6, the HC bench said the ACC must take the responsibility for Jaha Alam not getting bail much earlier.

The ACC should have taken initiatives so that Alam, who was wrongly in prison for three years because of an identity mess-up, obtains bail when it came to know that he is innocent, the court said.   

On April 17, the same bench sought for the ACC probe report about Jaha Alam in order to see who are responsible for his wrongly suffering imprisonment for three years.

It also asked the ACC to submit the probe report before it by May 2 and also fixed May 2 for further hearing on this issue.