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Published : 01 Mar 2018, 12:05 PM
The High Court has felt embarrassed six times so far to hear the case against the Awami League lawmaker of Feni-2 constituency.
Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique passed the order on Thursday after disposing of the rule on a four-year-old writ petition filed by a leader of Jubo League, the ruling party’s youth wing.
The HC order has removed all legal hurdles for Hazari to hold the MP position, said his counsels.
Barrister Shafiq Ahmed and Nurul Islam Sujan argued for Hazari while Quamrul Hoque Siddiqui and Satyaranjan Mondol represented the writ petitioner.
Former joint secretary of Feni Jubo League Sakhawat filed the petition attaching a 2014 newspaper report with it.
The report published in Bangla daily Prothom Alo said the MP walked out of jail before completing his jail term.
The petition cited the Constitution’s Section 66, which says a person shall be disqualified for election or being an MP, “… on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release.”
The judge said it occurred to him that the petition was an attempt to meet ‘some personal agenda or ill-motivated’ although it said it was for public interest.
Therefore the court scraps the petition and the rule, he said.
Hazari was jailed for 10 years and seven years under two separate sections of the Arms Act in 2000.
Therefore, he was not eligible to take office as an MP before 2015. But he did contest the 2014 national elections and became an MP, according to the petitioner.
Three High Court benches felt embarrassed to hear the matter until Justice Mirza Hossain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar issued a rule on Jun 8, 2014 upon a primary hearing.
The bench asked on what grounds Nizami was holding the position and why the position should not be declared vacant.
Two HC benches felt embarrassed to hear the rule on Nov 12 and Dec 2 in 2015.
The chief justice then forwarded the matter for hearing at a bench of Justice Md Emdadul Huq. Hearing on the HC rule started on Jan 19, 2016.
The High Court ordered jail authorities to submit report on Hazari’s jail term and cite if his sentence was commuted. It also sought the dossier of the case against Hazari that was filed under the Arms Act.
The inspector general of prisons submitted a report that Hazari served five years eight months and 19 days in prison.
Jail authorities commuted his sentence by one year eight months and 25 days (625 days). In total, he served seven years five months and 14 days in jail, which means he was due to serve another two years six months and 16 days.
On Aug 3, 2016, the court fixed Aug 17 for verdict. But again it deferred the verdict on Aug 23 seeking another document.
On Aug 23, Nizami’s counsels said his sentence was commuted because he donated blood.
Hazari donated blood 13 times while in prison which got him 486 days of remission, said his lawyer Nurul Islam Sujan. This means he was in jail for more time than he should have been, he argued.
On this, the court asked jail authorities to file an update with detailed description of Hazari’s blood donation activities.
On Nov 3, Chittagong jail authorities informed the court that they had no such information.
On Dec 6, the two-member HC bench gave a split verdict.
The chief justice then formed a single bench of Justice Soumendra Sarker to dispose of the case.
Justice Sarker expressed discomfort to hear the mattare. Same happened with Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice AFM Abdur Rahman, Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman.
The documents of the writ petition were then sent to the chief justice who forwarded it to Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, who gave its decision on Thursday.
