The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday set October 23 for holding hearing on a leave to appeal petition filed by jailed lawmaker Haji Mohammad Salim, challenging a High Court verdict that upheld lower court judgment, sentencing him to 10-year imprisonment in a graft case.
The court also kept into record a plea for bail filed by the accused.
"The leave petition be posted for hearing on October 23. The application for bail be kept with the record," the order of the three-member apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique said.
Senior advocate Sayeed Ahmed Raza moved the plea before the court, while senior advocate Khurshid Alam Khan argued for the Anti-Corruption Commission ACC). The Appellate Division Chamber Judge court on June 6 had sent the matter to apex court full bench for further hearing yesterday.
Haji Salim on May 24 had filed the leave to appeal plea against the High Court (HC) verdict that upheld a lower court judgement sentencing him to 10-year imprisonment in a graft case. He also filed the bail plea on that day.
The High Court on March 9, 2021, upheld the lower court judgement that had sentenced lawmaker Haji Mohammad Salim to 10-year imprisonment in the case lodged over amassing illegal wealth. The court, however, had acquitted the lawmaker of the charge of concealing information in his wealth statement, for which Selim was sentenced to three-year imprisonment.
The trial court on April 27, 2008, convicted Haji Salim and sentenced him to total 13 years' imprisonment under two sections in the case, which was filed by the ACC on October 24, 2007.
The accused appealed against the judgement with the High Court on October 25, 2009. The High Court on January 2, 2011, acquitted him of the corruption case, making the anti-graft body to appeal against the High Court verdict.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on January 12, 2015, scrapped the High Court verdict and ordered to hold the hearing afresh.
