The Appellate Division has dismissed the leave to appeal filed by BNP’s nominated candidate for Cumilla-4, Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, seeking to restore his candidacy. As a result, he will not be able to contest the 13th national parliamentary election.
After failing in the High Court to regain his candidacy, Manjurul Ahsan had approached the Supreme Court for leave to appeal. Following the hearing, a five-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury today, Sunday, dismissed the leave to appeal. The seat is currently contested by National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Hasnat Abdullah.
Earlier, the concerned returning officer had declared Manjurul Ahsan’s nomination valid. NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah appealed to the Election Commission (EC) against this decision, alleging that BNP’s candidate had concealed information about his defaulted loans while submitting the nomination.
Following a hearing at the Election Commission in Agargaon, Dhaka, on 17 January, Hasnat Abdullah’s appeal was upheld, rendering Manjurul Ahsan’s nomination invalid.
Challenging the EC’s decision, Manjurul Ahsan filed a writ petition in the High Court, which was dismissed directly on 21 January.
He then filed a leave to appeal with the Appellate Division. On 26 January, the Appellate Division adjourned the hearing until 28 January. After receiving the certified copy of the High Court order, he filed the leave to appeal formally. Following the hearing on 30 January 30, the Appellate Division scheduled the order for 1 February (today, Sunday).
Senior lawyers Ahsanul Karim, Md. Ruhul Quddus, and Muhammad Saifullah Mamun represented Manjurul Ahsan during the hearing. On the other side, senior lawyers Salah Uddin Dolon, Md. Hossain, and lawyer Zahirul Islam Musa represented Hasnat Abdullah.
Later, senior lawyer Salah Uddin Dolon told Prothom Alo, “The Appellate Division has dismissed Manjurul Ahsan’s leave to appeal. Consequently, he cannot contest the election. The Appellate Division has buried the decades-long practice of using interim stays from courts to contest national elections. In the future, no political party will be able to nominate a candidate with defaulted loans, nor can dual citizens be nominated.”