Staff Reporter :
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stayed till May 13 all the High Court proceedings regarding Jahlam, who was made to pass three years in jail whereas the real accused was at large.
Jute Mills worker Jahlam, who had been wrongly languishing in jail since February 2016, was released on February 4 this year following a HC directive. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice Md Nuruzzaman passed the stay order after hearing a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seeking stay on the HC hearing on the issue. The apex court Chamber Judge also sent the stay petition to its full Bench for hearing on May 13.
ACC’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said, “The Chamber Judge stayed all the proceedings regarding the case of Jahlam till May 13. The Chamber Judge also sent the stay petition to its full Bench for hearing on that day.” “High Court Division has Special Benches for Hearing on the ACC’s cases. Special Benches are also set for the disposal of special cases related to this. No other Benches have a jurisdiction to deal with the ACC’s cases. The Appellate Division has a verdict in this regard. The Chamber Judge passed the order considering all these things,” Khurshid Alam Khan also said.
The ACC submitted the stay petition to the SC on April 21 saying that the HC bench of Justice F R M Nazmul Ahasan and Justice K M Kamrul Kader, who issued the Suo Moto (voluntary) rule regrading Jahlam, have no jurisdiction to deal with the ACC’s cases, ACC’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told the reporters.
He said, Jahlam was arrested in connection with the corruption cases filed by the ACC. Replying to a question, Advocate Khurshid said, the ACC in its stay petition did not challenge the HC order for releasing Jahlam from jail. Following the newspaper report, the HC bench of Justice F R M Nazmul Ahasan and Justice K M Kamrul Kader on January 28 this year issued the Suo Moto rule asking the ACC and the government as to why they should not be directed to compensate Jahlam for his wrongly suffering in jail for three years in connection with the ACC’s cases.
During hearing on the rule on March 6, the HC Bench said the ACC must take the responsibility for Jahlam not getting bail much earlier. The ACC should have taken initiatives so that Jahlam, who was wrongly in prison for three years because of an identity mess-up, obtains bail when it came to know that he is innocent, the court said. On April 17, the same Bench sought for the ACC probe report about Jahlam in order to see who were responsible for his wrong imprisonment for three years.
It also asked the ACC to submit the probe report before it by May 2 and also fixed May 2 for further hearing on this issue.
