Another High Court judge yesterday felt embarrassed to hear a petition that challenged the legality of ruling Awami League leader Nizam Uddin Hazari's holding the office of a lawmaker.

Justice Farid Ahmd Shibli, a junior judge of a division bench of the HC, expressed his embarrassment without mentioning any reason, petitioner's lawyer Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.

The bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli would now send the petition to the chief justice.

The chief justice will then assign another HC bench for hearing and disposing of the petition, he added.    

On November 12, Justice AKM Shahidul Huq, junior judge of another HC bench, felt embarrassed during the hearing of the same petition. He too did not mention any reason.

The HC on June 8 last year issued a rule asking the government and the Election Commission to explain why Nizam's parliament seat should not be declared vacant.

The rule was issued following a writ petition filed by Shakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan, a Jubo League leader of Feni, claiming that Nizam, who was elected unopposed from Feni-2 constituency in last year's January 5 elections, had resorted to forgery to get out of jail early and run in the polls.

Quoting a newspaper report, Shakhawat in his petition said a Chittagong court had sentenced Nizam to 10 years' imprisonment in an arms case on August 16, 2000. He surrendered to the court on September 14, 2000, and was sent to Chittagong jail to serve his time.

But he was in jail for only five years and was released on December 1, 2005, through fraudulence, Shakhawat claimed. 

He said Nizam was supposed to be in jail until September 13, 2010, and he, according to the law, was not supposed to be eligible to run in any parliamentary polls before September, 2015.

The petitioner said Nizam could not have been a candidate in the parliamentary election of January 5, adding that Nizam had provided false information to the EC about serving his jail term.