BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi has been declared ineligible to contest the upcoming parliamentary election from the Cumilla-4 (Debidwar) constituency after being classified as a loan defaulter.
On Thursday, Chamber Court Judge Md Rezaul Haque stayed a High Court order that had temporarily suspended the list of loan defaulters, reinstating Munshi’s name.
The ruling came following a petition by Premier Bank, represented by Barrister Bibhuti Torafdar, seeking to maintain Manjurul Ahsan’s classification as a defaulter.
He said Manjurul had taken a loan of Tk88 crore from Premier Bank but failed to repay it, leading to his inclusion on the loan defaulters list.
Manjurul had challenged this in the High Court, which initially granted a three-month stay. Premier Bank subsequently appealed to the Appellate Division, prompting the Chamber Court to stay the High Court order for eight weeks.
As a result, Manjurul is now officially considered a loan defaulter and barred from contesting the election.
Earlier, on January 3, Returning Officer Md Reza Hasan completed the scrutiny of nomination papers in 11 Cumilla constituencies.
While the papers of 31 candidates were rejected, 76 candidates, including Munshi, were initially cleared.
A High Court bench, led by Justice AKM Robiul Hasan, had temporarily suspended Manjurul’s name from the list, but Premier Bank’s appeal led to the Chamber Court ruling.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah is contesting Cumilla-4 as the candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Following the scrutiny, RO Md Reza Hasan also rejected nominations in other Cumilla constituencies due to signature discrepancies, incomplete documentation, errors in the one-percent voter support list, and improper submission of bank account details. Disqualified candidates have the right to appeal within the timeframe prescribed by law.
