The High Court yesterday declared Awami League presidium member MK Alamgir's parliament membership legal.
The court also ordered the Election Commission to revoke its gazette notification issued last year that stripped MK Alamgir's lawmaker status.
The issue of Alamgir being a member of parliament began even before the last general elections. During the period of the caretaker government in 2007, he was convicted of tax dodging and earnings beyond known sources of income and sentenced to 13 years' in prison.
After the trial court sentenced him, he filed his nomination papers for the ninth parliamentary elections, held in December 29, 2008, from Chandpur-1 constituency. However, the returning officer rejected his bid on the ground that he had been convicted.
His appeal to the Election Commission to reconsider him as a candidate went in vain. He then moved the High Court, which also rejected his attempts to become a candidate at the election.
Unable to find ways to stay in the race, Alamgir then went to the Supreme Court and prayed for permission to appeal. A chamber judge of the Supreme Court then allowed him to run in the election while the court decided on what to do with his appeal prayer against the High Court order.
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 Election Commission then cancelled his candidature in the 2008 elections even though Alamgir took part in it and became a legislator. The commission in September 22 last year issued a notification declaring that Alamgir was no more a member of parliament.
After the Election Commission issued the notification, Alamgir filed a writ petition with the High Court 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 Election Commission declaration revoking Alamgir's parliament membership and asked the commission to explain why its declaration should not be ruled illegal.
Following hearing on the matter on Wednesday and yesterday, the High Court yesterday came up with the ruling that Alamgir was legally a member of parliament.
In yesterday's verdict, the High Court observed that as per provision of the constitution and law, the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, not the Election Commission, had the authority to cancel the parliamentary membership of any elected lawmaker on acceptable grounds.
Yesterday, the bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain said the commission should not have cancelled Alamgir's parliament membership based on the Supreme Court verdict. It said the Supreme Court did not even ask the commission to revoke Alamgir's membership.
The bench also 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," advocate Shahdeen Malik, counsel for the Election Commission, told the court during the hearing.
After the court's verdict, Malik said the Election Commission would sit soon to decide whether it will appeal against this High Court verdict in the Supreme Court.
Alamgir's counsel barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud told The Daily Star that the High Court has justified his client's parliamentary membership.
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