No bar for Ishraque to take oath as mayor: Lawyer Kayser Kamal
There is no longer any legal barrier for Ishraque Hossain to take oath as mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), lawyer Kayser Kamal said on Thursday.
He made the remarks as the High Court rejected a writ petition that sought to stay the gazette notification issued by the election commission (EC) in this regard.
A High Court division bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury in an order dismissed the writ petition outright today. The order included observations and directions.
Lawyer Kayser Kamal opposed the writ during the hearing in court.
He further said, “We believe that the adviser, who may have been manipulating the matter with a political agenda, would respect the law and ensure the swearing-in within the specified time, after today’s dismissal of the writ.”
Supreme Court lawyer Md. Mamunur Rashid on 13 May filed the writ petition seeking a stay on the electoral tribunal's verdict and the EC’s gazette that declared Ishraque as mayor.
Senior lawyer Mohammad Hossain represented the petitioner in the court while senior lawyer AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon and lawyer Kayser Kamal took part in the hearing stating that the election tribunal’s verdict and EC’s gazette publication were legal.
Deputy attorney general Md Mahfuzur Rahman and Khan Ziaur Rahman represented the state.
The election for Dhaka South City Corporation was held on 1 February 2020. Awami League (currently its activities are banned) candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was elected mayor.
The election commission published the gazette of the results on the next day, 2 February. Taposh took the oath and had been serving in the role.
Citing irregularities and corruption in the election, Ishraque filed a case on 3 March 2020, seeking the annulment of the results. He is a member of the BNP’s international affairs committee.
The Awami League government had fallen in the face of the mass uprising on 5 August last year. On 19 August that year, mayors of all the city corporations, including Dhaka South City Corporation, were removed.
Amid this, the Dhaka First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal on 27 March this year passed an order in the case, declaring Ishraque Hossain as an elected mayor of DSCC.
Following this court verdict, the election commission on 27 April published a gazette notification announcing Ishraque as the DSCC mayor.
The EC then sent a letter to the local government ministry to organise the swearing-in of Ishraque. As no steps were taken even after the letter, Ishraque’s supporters started demonstrations on 14 May.