The accused sentenced for more than two years in the corruption case is constitutionally ineligible for the Jatiyo Sangsad elections: The Supreme Court

High Court Justice Md. A bench consisting of Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam gave such observations in the verdict.

A full copy of the judgment was published on the Supreme Court's website on October 22.

The High Court has suspended the punishment and sentence given by the judicial court in separate cases of corruption of five leaders of BNP.

In the judgment, the court said, there is no opportunity to suspend the sentence of the appellants to facilitate their participation in the parliamentary elections.

Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said at that time, the court has given an opinion that no one can participate in the elections if he is sentenced for more than two years. An appeal against the sentence is pending, the petitioner is on bail, the order of fine has been stayed these cannot be grounds for stay of sentence or sentence, the court said. Constitution is the supreme law. Article 66 (2)(d) of the Constitution prohibits selection of convicts.

This condition has is laid down in article 66 of the Constitution which contains “A person shall not be qualified to be elected as, and to be, a member of Parliament who has been, on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release”. 

BNP leader A ZM Zahid Hossain's lawyer Khairul Alam Chowdhury said that there is no opportunity to suspend the sentence according to Section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court also said that while the appeal filed by an accused person in the Appellate Court against the judgment of penalty and sentence is pending, that person cannot participate in the election.