The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has dismissed the leave-to-appeal petition filed by BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi for the Comilla-4 constituency. He cannot contest in the 13th parliamentary election.
On the other hand, the Appellate Division has accepted the leave-to-appeal petition of BNP candidate Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan in the Comilla-10 constituency. Following the order, there is no bar for him to participate in the election.
However, the Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by another candidate from the same constituency, Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan, who sought his candidacy. As a result, he will not be able to take part in the election.
Manjurul Ahsan filed the petition with the Supreme Court challenging a High Court order that rejected his candidature.
Following the hearing on Sunday, the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and comprising five members, dismissed the petition. In this constituency, Hasnat Abdullah is contesting the election as a candidate of National Citizen Party (NCP).
Earlier, the concerned returning officer had declared Manjurul Ahsan’s nomination paper valid during scrutiny. Against this decision, Hasnat appealed to the Election Commission (EC), alleging that the BNP candidate had concealed information about being a loan defaulter.
After a hearing at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka, the EC accepted Hasnat’s appeal on 17 January. Challenging legality of the EC’s decision, Manjurul Ahsan filed a writ petition in the High Court. On 21 January, after the hearing, the High Court summarily dismissed the writ petition.
In Comilla-10 area, BNP’s Mobasher filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging legality of the decision that cancelled his candidacy. After the hearing, on 25 January, the High Court issued a rule suspending the cancellation order of his nomination paper.
At the same time, the court directed that he be allotted the “sheaf of paddy” symbol. Against this order of the High Court, another candidate from the same constituency, Hasan Ahmed, filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division.
In this constituency, BNP’s Gafur Bhuiyan faced an appeal with the EC by Kazi Nure Alam Siddiqui, the candidate of the Bangladesh Cultural Liberation Alliance, alleging dual citizenship. After a hearing on 18 January, the EC cancelled Gafur Bhuiyan’s nomination paper.
Challenging the EC’s decision, Gafur Bhuiyan filed a writ petition in the High Court. After the hearing, on 22 January, the HC summarily dismissed the writ petition. To regain his candidacy, Gafur Bhuiyan then filed a leave-to-appeal petition against the High Court’s order.
