Hearing on Nizam Hazari’s JS membership Nov 14

The High Court today fixed November 14 for resuming hearing on a writ petition challenging the legality of Jatiya Sangsad membership of Nizam Uddin Hazari, an Awami League leader of Feni.

The bench of Justice Md Emdadul Huq and Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan set the date after concluding today's proceedings on the petition.

Shakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan, a Jubo League leader of Feni, had filed the writ petition as public interest litigation with the HC on June 8, 2014, claiming that Nizam resorted to forgery to get out of jail early in a criminal case and run in the parliamentary polls in January 2014.

In the petition, he prayed to the court to declare Nizam disqualified for contesting the polls and his holding the office of a lawmaker illegal.

Quoting a newspaper report, Shakhawat in his petition said a Chittagong court had sentenced Nizam to 10 years' imprisonment in an arms case on August 16, 2000. Following his surrender to the court on September 14, 2000, he was sent to Chittagong jail to serve the jail term.

But he was behind bars for only five years and was freed on December 1, 2005, through fraudulence, the Jubo League leader added. 

He said Nizam was supposed to be in jail until September 13, 2010, and he, as per law, was not supposed to be eligible to run in parliamentary polls before September 2015. The petitioner said Nizam had provided false information to the Election Commission about serving his jail term.