As per the latest High Court verdict, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League MP Haji Salim among other convicted persons will not be able to participate in the upcoming national elections.
Lawyer of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said this while briefing journalists on the Supreme Court premises on Monday (October 23, 2023).
The lawyer said, “The persons, who were sentenced for more than two years, will not be able to participate in the polls according to the last HC judgement.”
The High Court in its latest verdict said that the persons convicted for more than two years in the corruption case filed by the ACCs are ineligible for the national elections. The full text of the verdict was uploaded on the website of the Supreme Court on Sunday (October 22).
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam delivered verdict, staying the sentence and fine awarded by a trial court to five BNP leaders in separate corruption cases.
Quoting the Constitution, the higher in the verdict said that the accused sentenced for more than two years in the corruption case will be constitutionally ineligible for the national elections.
In the 44-page judgment, the court said that even if the bail or sentence is suspended, he/she cannot participate in the election, unless his sentence is canceled by the competent court. Pending appeal does not mean that the convicted person is innocent. Only if the sentence is set aside by a competent court will the convicted person be acquitted. There is no opportunity to participate in the elections until the penalty is cancelled.
On November 27 in 2018, the High Court ruled that a person cannot participate in the election while the appeal is under trial if the lower court has sentenced him to more than two years.
The order was given by rejecting the petition of five BNP leaders, including Aman Ullah Aman, seeking suspension of punishment and sentence given by the judicial court for corruption.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan at that time said that the High Court rejected the application of five people. In this case, the court specifically said - according to Article 66(2) of the Constitution, if a person has been sentenced to two years in a criminal case, no one can participate in the election until it is suspended in the Appellate Division. In this case, the Constitution will prevail over anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
