Hossen Sohel of DOT
The Supreme Court yesterday stayed for a day the High Court order that halted the conviction and sentence of BNP’s Jashore-2 nominee Sabira Sultana in a corruption case, which had cleared the way for her to contest the elections, reports The Daily Star.
Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, passed the order following two separate petitions filed by the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission seeking a stay on the High Court order.
The apex court judge also forwarded the stay petitions to its full bench for hearing on the matter tomorrow.
Anti-Corruption Commissions’ lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that it depends on the tomorrow’s order of the Appellate Division whether Sabira Sultana to contest the elections.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the government while advocate AJ Mohammad Ali argued for Sabira Sultana.
The High Court on Thursday stayed the conviction and six years’ jail sentence of Sabira in the corruption case.
The government today filed the petition seeking a stay on the High Court order.
After the HC order on Thursday, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that there was no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to stay a conviction while an appeal against it is pending.
On Monday, the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman observed that there was no provision in the CrPC for suspending a conviction.
The next day, the HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam also observed that there was no provision in the CrPC for suspending convictions.