Alamgir stays lawmaker
The High Court yesterday declared illegal the Election Commission's decision to scrap Awami League leader Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir's parliament membership.
The court also ordered the EC to revoke its gazette notification to that end and inform the Speaker about it.
The commission had issued the notification following an Appellate Division verdict delivered on July 15 last year that declared legal the EC's decision to cancel Alamgir's candidature in the last general election.
In its verdict yesterday, the HC observed that as per provisions of the constitution and law, the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, not the EC, had the authority to cancel parliamentary membership of a lawmaker on acceptable grounds.
The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain said the EC should not have cancelled Alamgir's membership based on the Appellate Division verdict. It said the apex court did not even ask the commission to revoke Alamgir's membership.
It all began long before the last general election. In 2007, during the caretaker government rule, MK Alamgir was convicted of evading taxes and amassing wealth beyond known sources of income. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Despite having the conviction, he filed nomination papers for the ninth parliamentary election, held on December 29, 2008, from Chandpur-1 constituency.
The returning officer, however, rejected his application for candidature on the grounds that he had been convicted.
After his appeal to the EC to reconsider him as a candidate went in vain, he moved the High Court, which also rejected his attempts to stay in the parliamentary race.
Undeterred, Alamgir then went to the Supreme Court and prayed for permission to appeal. A chamber judge of the Supreme Court allowed him to run in the election.
Alamgir took part in the election, won, and became a lawmaker.
However, on July 15 last year, the Supreme Court finally came up with a verdict on his appeal prayer. It rejected his petition.
The commission on September 22 that year issued a notification declaring that Alamgir was no more a member of parliament.
After the EC issued the notification, Alamgir filed a writ petition with the HC saying the commission had no authority to cancel his membership and that only the Speaker could exercise that authority.
The court on September 26 last year stayed the EC declaration revoking Alamgir's parliament membership and asked it to explain why its declaration should not be adjudged illegal.
Delivering the verdict yesterday, the HC bench observed that the 2007 conviction of Alamgir was scrapped by the Supreme Court on July 4 last year. And this made him innocent when he filed his nomination papers.
"Since disqualification is curable, in future, those who are convicted and have filed appeal against their convictions, will find it easier to be a candidate in an election," Shahdeen Malik, counsel for the EC, told the court during the hearing.
After the court's verdict, Malik said the EC would sit soon to decide whether to appeal against this HC verdict in the Supreme Court.
Alamgir's counsel Rokanuddin Mahmud told The Daily Star that the HC has justified his client's parliamentary membership.
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