Probe if AL lawmaker Nizam completed his 10-year jail term

The High Court yesterday ordered the inspector general of police to probe whether ruling Awami League leader Nizam Uddin Hazari had completed a 10-year jail term in an arms case and asked for a report in 30 days.

The court passed the order while hearing a rule issued over the legality of Nizam Uddin Hazari's holding the office of a lawmaker.

The HC issued the rule on June 8, 2014 asking the government, Election Commission, and Nizam to explain why his parliament seat should not be declared vacant.

The rule was issued following a writ petition filed by Shakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan, a Jubo League leader of Feni, claiming that Nizam, who was elected unopposed from Feni-2 constituency in the January 5 elections in 2014, had resorted to forgery to get out of jail early and run in the polls.

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.

He surrendered on September 14, 2000, and was sent to Chittagong jail to serve the term.

But he had been in jail for only five years and was released on December 1, 2005, through fraudulence, Shakhawat claimed.

He said Nizam was supposed to be in jail until September 13, 2010, and he was not legally eligible to run in any parliamentary polls before September 2015.

The petitioner said Nizam could not have been a candidate in the parliamentary election of January 5, 2014, if he had not provided false information to the EC about serving his jail term.

After concluding yesterday's proceedings, the HC bench of Justice Md Emdadul Huq and Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah fixed April 10 for resuming the hearing on the rule, petitioner's lawyer Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.