The High Court on Wednesday called for the lower court records (LCR) of a case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against Haji Mohammad Salim, a member of parliament from Dhaka-7 constituency, in which he was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment by a trial court.
The Special Court-7 of Dhaka has been asked to send the LCR of the case to the High Court within December 07 this year.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq passed the order after holding hearing on a petition filed by the ACC seeking expeditious hearing of Haji Salim's appeal petition against trial court verdict.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan appeared in the court on behalf of the ACC, while Advocate Sayeed Ahmed Raza represented Haji Salim.
Khurshid Alam Khan later said, "The High Court has ordered to send lower court records of the case. The court will pass further order after receiving the documents."
Sayeed Ahmed Raza said, "After hearing Salim's appeal the High Court on January 02 in 2011 acquitted him of the charges by cancelling the special court's judgement on the technical ground. Then the records of the case were sent to the lower court."
On Sunday the Anti-Corruption Commission assigned lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan to conduct the case in the High Court. Then he filed a petition on Monday with the High Court seeking hearing of the case on priority basis. Considering their petition the High Court bench called for the records of the case.
The RAB raided Salim's houses in Lalbagh and arrested his son Erfan, also Dhaka South City Corporation ward 30 councillor, on October 26, a day after Navy Lieutenant Wasif Ahmed Khan filed a case against Erfan and his associates for assaulting him.
The navy officer was assaulted by Erfan and his cohorts at the Kalabagan crossing on October 25 following an altercation after Salim's car hit the officer's motorbike.
Various crimes, including grabbing of government and private lands, by Haji Salim were revealed by victims after his son Erfan was arrested and suspended as councillor following the assault on the navy officer. In the meantime the ACC also has filed the petition for hearing the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on October 24, 2007 filed the case with the Lalbagh Police Station against Haji Salim on charge of possessing wealth worth Tk 269.2 million beyond his known source of income. The trial court on April 27, 2008 sentenced Haji Salim to 13 years' imprisonment in the case.
Salim filed the appeal in 2009 against the jail term handed down by the Special Judge's Court-7 on April 27, 2008. The High Court on January 02, 2011 acquitted him of the charges by cancelling the special court's judgment.
On January 12, 2015 the Appellate Division, responding to an ACC appeal, cancelled the High Court judgement that scrapped the special court verdict sentencing him to 13 years in jail and asked to hold rehearing of Haji Salim's appeal petition in the High Court.
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