Nizam Hazari's JS membership: HC judge feels embarrassed to hear plea

A High Court judge today felt embarrassed to hear a writ petition that challenged the legality of holding the office of a lawmaker by ruling Awami League leader Nizam Uddin Hazari.

Justice Farid Ahmed, however, did not disclose why he felt embarrassed.

The bench of Justice Farid Ahmed also dropped the petition from the hearing list and sent it to Justice M Abdul Wahhab Miah, who is performing the functions of the chief justice.

After receiving the petition, Justice Wahhab Miah will assign another bench for hearing and disposal of about four-years-old writ petition, petitioner’s lawyer Advocate Satya Ronjon Mondal, told The Daily Star.

He also said earlier three separate benches of the HC refused to hear the same petition after a two-judge bench on December 6, 2016, delivered a split verdict on it.

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 Election Commission to explain why the ruling Awami League leader 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 last year saying that Nizam Uddin Hazari had suffered in jail around 2.5 years less than he was supposed to serve in the arms case.