The Appellate Division has put on hold the High Court ruling that reinstated the previous boundaries of the Cumilla-1 and Cumilla-2 parliamentary constituencies.
The order came on Tuesday, after the Appellate Division, led by the Chief Justice, granted the Election Commission (EC) ‘leave to appeal’ against the High Court verdict.
The EC was represented in court by Additional Attorney General Mohammad Arshadur Rouf, along with lawyers Mustafizur Rahman Khan and Kamal Hossain Miazi.
The petitioners were represented by lawyers Ehsan A Siddique and Saiful Islam Ujjal, while independent candidate AM Matin appeared through lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun.
On 4 September last year, the EC published a gazette regarding the redrawing of constituency boundaries. Under the gazette, Cumilla-1 was redefined to include Daudkandi and Meghna upazilas, while Cumilla-2 covered Homna and Titas upazilas.
Challenging the validity of parts of the gazette, six individuals, including Homna Upazila BNP president Mohammad Mohi Uddin, filed a writ petition last year. Following the hearing, the High Court issued a rule on 17 September. Independent candidate AM Matin from Cumilla-2 and resident MA Mizanur of Meghna upazila were added as respondents.
After the final hearing, the High Court issued its verdict on 8 January, directing that Cumilla-1, covering Daudkandi–Titas, and Cumilla-2, covering Homna–Meghna, be restored to their previous boundaries.
Seeking to suspend the High Court ruling, the EC and AM Matin filed separate appeals in the Appellate Division. The cases were placed on the chamber court’s schedule on 11 January.
After hearing the cases, the chamber court stayed the High Court verdict. The stay will remain in effect until the leave to appeal is formally filed. Subsequently, both the EC and AM Matin filed separate leave to appeal petitions against the High Court’s decision.
