Former telecoms minister Abdul Latif Siddique has moved the Appellate Division to stay an Election Commission (EC) notice to appear at a hearing.
Published : 20 Aug 2015, 04:06 PM
The High Court on Thursday scrapped his petition challenging the EC’s move to hold a hearing over his parliamentary membership after the Awami League expelled him.
Later, the Tangail MP’s lawyers went to the Chamber Judge’s court, when it forwarded the matter to a regular appeals bench.
The appeals court hearing is set for Sunday, the same day the EC hearing is scheduled to be held.
Replying a query, Siddique’s counsel Jyotirmoy Barua said: “The Appellate Division proceedings starts at 9am and the hearing is at 11am. The court will decide whether he must attend the hearing.”
Siddique was sacked from the Cabinet last year for his controversial comment on Hajj and subsequently expelled from his party.
The Tangail- 4 MP was in jail for almost nine months in several cases accusing him of ‘hurting religious sensitivities’ until he was released on bail in June this year.
On July 5, eight months after his expulsion, Awami League’s letter notifying Parliament of Siddique's ouster from the party reached Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.
After that, the EC moved to resolve the matter and summoned Siddique to appear in a hearing.
Siddique, who was a member of the party’s policymaking Presidium, filed a petition with the High Court challenging EC’s move, which was rejected on Thursday.
“The notice sent to Latif Siddique by the election commission is legal. It’s the EC who will resolve this matter,” said Deputy Attorney General Khorshedul Alam, who argued for the state on Thursday.
If Siddique has a point to make, that can be done during the EC’s hearing. So, the court scrapped his petition, Alam said.