A two-member High Court bench on Monday passed split order on a writ petition that challenged the legality of holding offices by Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya as a member of parliament and minister for relief and disaster management ‘being a convict.’
Senior judge of the bench Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury issued a rule asking the government to explain in two weeks under what authority Maya has been holding position of a member of parliament ‘being a convict’.
On the other hand, junior judge Justice Md Ashraful Kamal summarily rejected the writ petition saying the Jatiya Sangsad speaker would refer the dispute over Maya’s parliament membership to the Election Commission according to the rules of procedure.
The Election Commission would finally decide the fate of his membership in the parliament, he added.
Later, the court sent the order to the chief justice for constituting a single-member bench to settle the dispute.
Eunus Ali Akond, a Supreme Court lawyer, had filed the writ petition on July 7.
The Appellate Division on June 14 revoked a High Court verdict that had acquitted Maya of graft charges overturning a Special Judge’s Court verdict that had sentenced him to imprisonment for 13 years on February 14, 2008.
The Appellate Division also asked the High Court to dispose of Maya’s appeal on merit observing that the High Court in its verdict in the appeal delivered on October 27, 2010 did not apply ‘judicial mind.’
On June 30, Eunus Ali Akond sent a legal notice to Maya by post asking him to explain by which authority he was still serving as a minister and MP after the Supreme Court quashed a High Court order acquitting him of graft charges.
In his notice, Eunus said a convicted person cannot hold the position of a member of parliament or minister as per the article 66/2 (d) of the constitution.
The article stipulates, ‘A person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a member of 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.’
On June 14, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court quashed a High Court order that acquitted Maya of the graft charges.
It also asked the High Court to rehear the appeal filed by the minister with the High Court challenging a lower court judgment which had jailed him for 13 years in 2007.
In 2007, the ACC filed the case against the senior Awami League leader with Sutrapur police station accusing him of amassing wealth beyond the known source of income and concealing information about his wealth worth Tk 29 lakh.
On February 24, 2008, a lower court sentenced him to 13 years’ imprisonment in the case and asked the authorities concerned to confiscate his wealth worth Tk 5 crore.
Maya filed an appeal with the High Court. On October 27, 2010, the High Court cleared him of the graft charges.
Later, the ACC filed an appeal against the High Court order to the Appellate Division.
Source: New Age
