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Khaleda Zia, Haji Selim can’t contest next election: ACC lawyer

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Staff Reporter  :
Khurshid Alam Khan, a lawyer of the Anti-Corruption Commission, on Monday said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League MP Haji Selim are ineligible to participate in the upcoming 12th parliamentary election as per a decision by the High Court.

Khurshid said the HC verdict, published on Sunday, mentioned that no convict can participate in the election until the sentence is overturned by the appropriate court.

“In line with this verdict, Khaleda Zia, Haji Selim and any person sentenced to more than two years in jail, whose appeal is pending, will not be able to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election,” the lawyer told reporters on the Supreme Court premises.

In the full text of a verdict the High Court has observed that granting bail to a convicted person in a case does not mean his sentence is also suspended.

The court further observed that while the appeal filed by an accused person in the appellate court against the judgment of conviction is pending that person cannot participate in the Parliament election.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the observation in the verdict after hearing five criminal appeal petitions.

The HC bench said, “The trial judge after assessing the evidence on record has convicted the appellant-petitioners. They have preferred appeals which are pending before this court.

Therefore, in spite of pending of appeal, their status is that they are convicted persons.

This court has not suspended the sentence of the petitioners, but they have been enlarged on bail by this court.

By operation of the bail order, the order of sentence is deemed to have been suspended, but the conviction is still in force.”

The HC further said, “There is no scope to suspend the conviction of the appellant-petitioner on the ground to facilitate them to participate in the election of Parliament, since as per the provision of Article 66(2)(d) of Constitution, the appellant petitioners are disqualified to contest or participate in election of Parliament.”

The HC said though the convict-appellant-petitioners have been enlarged on bail, the question of suspension of conviction does not arise at all.

Accordingly, the convict-appellant-petitioners are debarred from participating in election of Parliament unless a period of 5 years has elapsed since their release or their conviction and sentence are set aside by the apex court in view of Article 66(2)(d) of the Constitution.

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