Appellate Division upholds dismissal of writ challenging revocation of Papul’s MP post
On 7 June, the High Court rejected the writ petition filed by Papul's sister Nurunnahar Begum that challenged the validity of revoking his MP status and declaring the seat vaca
The Appellate Division has upheld the dismissal of a writ petition filed by Kazi Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Laxmipur-2 constituency, who was convicted in a Kuwaiti court on charges of human trafficking and money laundering.
The Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order on Thursday. Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud appeared in court in favour of the appeal while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the state.
On 7 June, the High Court (HC) rejected the writ petition filed by Papul's sister Nurunnahar Begum challenging the validity of the revocation of his MP post and declaring the seat vacant. An appeal was later filed in the Appellate Division seeking a stay of the HC order.
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On 22 February, Papul's MP position was revoked after a Kuwaiti court convicted him of human and money laundering. The parliament secretariat has issued a notification in this regard.
This is the first time in the history of Bangladesh since independence that an MP has lost his post being detained abroad and convicted of a criminal offence.
On 28 January, a Kuwaiti court sentenced Papul to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Kuwaiti Dinar 19 lakh, or around Tk53 crore.
He was arrested on 6 June last year from his home in Kuwait and was sentenced after seven and a half months of detention and three and a half months after the start of the trial.
Meanwhile, the election commission has declared the Laxmipur-2 constituency vacant and set 21 June as the election date.
