Bangladesh News

Three lawyers yesterday applied to the Supreme Court (SC) for drawing proceedings against Abu Safa who made false declarations to obtain a stay order on making public vital information about election candidates by the Election Commission (EC).

The lawyers said although Abu Safa obtained the stay order stating that he would participate in the upcoming election from Chittagong-3 constituency, in reality he did not even file his nomination.

The three lawyers–advocates Abdul Momen Chowdhury, KM Zabir and Zahurul Islam–also sought for taking legal steps against Safa.

In May 2005, they won a legal battle to make the EC obtain and publicise eight types of vital information of election candidates in order to help voters take informed decision before casting their votes.

On December 19 last year, Safa obtained the stay order on the plea that he would participate in the election, but he only studied up to class eight, and if this information is made public, he would not get a “fair” chance to win in the election.

Pro-BNP lawyers Barrister Omar Sadaat and Barrister Azmalul Hossain moved Safa’s petition at the one-member SC vacation bench of Joynul Abedin. The court issued the stay order without hearing any submission by the three petitioners who had obtained the original ruling.

Moudud Ahmed, former law minister of the immediate past BNP-led four-party coalition government, was present in the court at that time.

The stay order was seen as a legal victory of criminals and black money owners in the election race.

Meanwhile, five eminent citizens of the country–Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, Syed Abul Maqsud, Prof Tofael Ahmed and Sharmin Murshid– filed another application, requesting the court to take legal steps against Safa for lying before the court.

They also sought the court’s permission to become a party of the case.