HC upholds Haji Salim’s 10yr imprisonment in graft case

The High Court on Tuesday upheld a 10-year imprisonment sentence of independent parliamentarian Haji Mohammad Salim handed down by a subordinate court for amassing illegal wealth, reports UNB.

Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq passed the order after hearing a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

At the same time, the MP was acquitted of a three-year jail term in the same case filed by the ACC for concealing wealth information.

The High Court also reduced the fine imposed on Salim by half to Tk 1 million (10 lakh). He will have to spend one more year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

He has been ordered to surrender within 30 days.

ACC counsel Advocate Khurshid Alam said that an MP sentenced to more than two years in a criminal case loses his seat. The Speaker of Jatiya Sangshad can take steps in this regard.

"We'll notify the authorities concerned after getting the copy of the verdict," he said.

In 2007, the ACC filed the case against Salim. On 27 April 2008, a Dhaka court jailed him for 13 years and fined Tk 2 million (20 lakh).

Salim moved the High Court against the verdict.

In 2011, the court overturned his sentence but the ACC later appealed against the lower court verdict.

Later, the Appellate Division asked the High Court to re-hear the petition.

Irregularities of Salim resurfaced after his son Irfan Salim was arrested for assaulting a navy official last year.