The High Court has stayed for 15 days the effectiveness of a letter from the Bangladesh Cricket Board president directing district and divisional sports associations to nominate councillors from ad-hoc committees for the upcoming election.
The court also issued a rule asking the relevant government authorities and the BCB to explain within 10 days why the president’s letter should not be declared illegal.
The bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Bishwajit Debnath delivered the order and rule after a writ petition challenged the legality of the letter.
Lawyers Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Md Rafiqul Islam represented the petitioners, while Additional Attorney General Md Arshadur Rauf and Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Masud appeared on behalf of the state.
Earlier in the day, four individuals from Tangail, Lakshmipur, Gopalganj and Rajbari submitted the petition. They sought a stay on the operation of the letter issued on 18 September, which instructed regional associations that had nominated councillors from outside the ad-hoc committees to resubmit their nominations.
The BCB election is scheduled for 6 October.
Ahead of the polls, the National Sports Council had asked district and divisional sports associations to submit councillor nominations by 17 September, specifying that nominations must come from ad-hoc committees overseeing the regional associations. The BCB later extended the deadline first to 18 September and then again to today, as some regional bodies had not complied with the directive.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal, who is a contender for the BCB presidency, strongly criticised the directive. He said it contradicted the BCB constitution.
“What we normally know from the BCB constitution is that those who are eligible, those related to sports, the DC can give them councillorship. This has been the case for a number of years, a number of elections. But this time, I suddenly noticed something new: an ad-hoc committee was formed. The rule that it must come from the ad-hoc committee is not mentioned anywhere in our constitution,” Tamim said at a press conference organised by an alliance of district and divisional sports organisers, cricketers and club representatives.
