HC orders Haji Salim's surrender in 30 days

The High Court has released the full text of a verdict directing Awami League lawmaker Haji Md Salim to surrender before a trial court in 30 days in a corruption case.

The 30 days will be counted from the date the trial court receives the HC verdict, reports The Daily Star.

In the full text of verdict out on Thursday, the HC upheld the lower court's judgement that convicted and sentenced Salim to 10 years in prison in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission during the military-backed caretaker government in 2007.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan, who has gone through the 66-page full text of HC verdict, told The Daily Star that Salim could no longer remain an MP as per Article (2) (d) of the constitution as the HC upheld his 10 years' jail sentence.

Replying to a query, Khurshid Alam Khan said the trial court will send Salim to jail if he surrenders to it.

Salim will have to seek bail from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court after going to jail in this case, the ACC lawyer added.

Salim's lawyer Sayed Ahmed Raza, however, said his client would move an appeal before the Appellate Division challenging the HC verdict.

Salim is unwell and therefore, he will seek bail from the trial court after surrendering to it, he added.

He said his client's parliamentary membership will stay as the issue will be settled by the apex court.

The HC bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq on March 9 last year verbally announced the verdict in the case.

In the verdict, the bench upheld the lower court's verdict that convicted and sentenced Salim to 10 years in prison in the corruption case.

It also upheld a fine of Tk 10 lakh imposed on the Awami League lawmaker from Dhaka-7 for amassing wealth worth Tk 14.65 crore beyond known sources of his income.

The HC, however, scrapped another part of the lower court's judgement delivered in 2008 which handed three years' imprisonment to Salim for concealing information about his wealth to the ACC.

Delivering the verdict following an appeal by Salim, the HC also said his illegal wealth worth Tk 27 crore would remain confiscated.