Verdict on Nizam Hazari's JS membership Thursday

The High Court will give its verdict on Thursday on a writ petition that challenged the legality of holding the office of a lawmaker by ruling Awami League leader Nizam Uddin Hazari.

The bench of Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique today fixed the date for delivering the judgement after concluding hearing on the petition. 

Earlier, five HC judges refused to hear the same petition after a two-judge bench on December 6, 2016, delivered a split verdict on it, petitioner’s lawyer Advocate Satya Ronjon Mondal, told The Daily Star.

The judges did not disclose the reasons behind their feeling embarrassed, he added.  

Shakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan, a Jubo League leader of Feni, filed the petition as public interest litigation with the HC on June 8, 2014 praying to the court to declare Nizam disqualified for contesting the parliamentary polls and holding the office as a lawmaker because of his alleged forgery in getting early release from jail in a criminal case.

Quoting a newspaper report, Shakhawat in his petition said a Chittagong court sentenced Nizam to 10 years’ imprisonment in an arms case on August 16, 2000. He surrendered to the court on September 14, 2000, and was sent to Chittagong jail to serve his term.

But he was released on December 1, 2005, through fraudulence, Shakhawat said. Nizam was supposed to be in jail until September 13, 2010, and he, according to the law, was not supposed to be eligible to run in parliamentary polls before September 2015.

Nizam provided false information about serving his jail term to the Election Commission, he added.

The HC issued a rule the same day asking the government and the EC to explain why Nizam Uddin Hazari's parliament seat should not be declared vacant.

The office of inspector general of prisons submitted a report to the HC on July 19, 2016 saying that Nizam Uddin Hazari had suffered in jail around 2.5 years less than he was supposed to serve in the arms case.

During hearing on the petition, petitioner’s lawyer Advocate QuamrulHaque Siddique told the court that Nizam Uddin Hazari cannot hold the post of a lawmaker and he will have to serve in jail if the report of the IG prisons is correct.

Meanwhile, Nizam’s lawyers Barrister Shafique Ahmed and Advocate Nurul Islam Sujan opposed the petition saying that their client had served the entire term of the jail sentence in an arms case and therefore, the petition was not filed for the public interest.