The High Court on Tuesday upheld the 10-year jail sentence of Awami League MP Haji Mohammad Salim handed down by a subordinate court in a case filed for amassing illegal wealth.
The court ordered the accused to surrender before the lower court concerned within 30-day of getting the copy of the judgement. If Haji Salim failed to surrender within the time, his bail will be canceled and arrest warrant would be issued against him.
A virtual bench comprising Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq passed the order after holding hearing on the matter. The court on February 24 set today to pronounce the judgement as the hearing came to an end on that day.
The court however, acquitted the lawmaker of the charge of concealing information in his wealth statement, for which Salim was sentenced to three-year imprisonment.
The High Court also reduced the fine imposed on Salim by half to Tk 10 lakh. He will have to spend one more year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan argued for the ACC while advocates Abdul Baset Majumder and M Sayed Ahmed took part in the hearing for Haji Salim. Assistant Attorney Generals Tamanna Ferdous and Sathi Shahjahan stood for the state.
The Special Judge’s Court-7 of Dhaka sentenced Haji Salim to 13-year imprisonment in the case on April 27, 2008.
The ACC filed the corruption case against Haji Salim with Lalbagh Police Station on October 24, 2007 on charges of amassing illegal assets.
Haji Salim appealed against the verdict with the HC on October 25, 2009.
The High Court on January 2, 2011, acquitted him of the corruption case, making the anti-graft body to appeal against the High Court verdict.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on January 12, 2015, scrapped the High Court verdict and ordered to hold the hearing afresh.
