Aslam Chowdhury Cannot Take Oath: Appellate Division

The Appellate Division has ruled that BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury, who won the Chattogram-4 constituency, cannot take his oath of office due to being a loan defaulter. 

Consequently, his election results cannot be officially published.

The bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, delivered the verdict on Tuesday. 

Earlier on June 15, the court fixed June 30 for the verdict following the conclusion of the hearing.

Advocates Miftah Uddin Chowdhury and A M Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Aslam Chowdhury in court. 

On the other side, Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir and Barrister A S M Shahriar Kabir, along with Advocate Md. Azim Uddin Patwary, represented Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Anwar Siddiqui.

Before the 13th National Parliament Election, which took place on February 12 this year, the returning officer validated Aslam Chowdhury’s nomination papers after scrutiny on January 3. 

However, Jamaat candidate Anwar Siddiqui and Yamuna Bank filed an appeal with the Election Commission (EC), bringing allegations of loan default against him.

Following a hearing, the Election Commission rejected the appeal on January 18, upholding Aslam Chowdhury's candidacy. 

The challenging parties then filed separate writ petitions with the High Court questioning the validity of the EC's decision. 

On January 27, the High Court dismissed both writ petitions after a hearing, thereby upholding Aslam Chowdhury's candidacy.

Jamaat candidate Anwar filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Supreme Court's Appellate Division against the High Court's order. 

On February 3, a five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by the Chief Justice, granted his appeal application.

The court's order specified that although the appeal was accepted for a hearing, Aslam Chowdhury could contest in the election. 

However, the publication of the election results for that specific constituency would remain stayed until the final disposal of the appeal.

Amid this uncertainty, BNP's Aslam Chowdhury contested the in the election and defeated Jamaat candidate Anwar Siddiqui by a margin of 53,000 votes. 

However, in compliance with the apex court's directive, the EC withheld the gazette publication of the election results for that constituency, leaving Aslam Chowdhury's oath-taking in limbo.

Consequently, Aslam filed a petition with the Supreme Court's Appellate Division seeking permission to publish the results and take the oath. 

On the other hand, Anwar Siddiqui filed his formal appeal on March 31.

Following this sequence, hearings began in the Appellate Division. 

During the hearings, the apex court heard the expert opinions of lawyers M Kamrul Haq Siddiqui and Prabir Neogi, who were appointed as Amicus Curiae (friends of the court).

With the final verdict delivered by the Appellate Division on this day, Aslam Chowdhury’s path to parliament has been closed for now.