The High Court issued a ruling yesterday seeking an explanation in four weeks as to under what authority Nizam Uddin Hazari was holding office as the lawmaker of Feni 2 constituency. It also wanted to know why the seat would not be announced vacant.
The order was passed by the bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar, following a writ petition filed by Shakhwat Hossain, ex-joint convener of Feni district Jubo League.
The plea mentioned that a Chittagong court had sentenced Nizam Hazari to 10 years in jail in an arms case. He, however, was released on December 1, 2005, after serving only five years behind bars.
Although he appealed against the judgment with the High Court and the Appellate Division but the appeals were dismissed, said the petition.
Manzill Murshid, counsel for the petitioner, told the court Nizam resorted to fraud in his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission prior to the tenth parliamentary election, by saying that his appeals were disposed of and he was freed. According to the constitution, Nizam could only contest the parliamentary elections if they were held in 2015, the lawyer said.
The constitutional provision says: “A person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a member of the parliament who has been, 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 court directed the inspector general (prison) and senior jail super of Chittagong Central Jail to submit a report on Nizam’s stay in jail along with relevant files within 30 days. Manzill said Nizam had been elected uncontested.
