The High Court has dismissed a writ petition that sought to prevent BNP leader Ishraq Hossain from taking the oath as Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
On Thursday (May 22), a High Court bench comprising Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury passed the order, clearing the way for Ishraq Hossain to be sworn in as Mayor of DSCC.
Senior lawyer Mohammad Hossain represented the petitioner in court, while senior advocate AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon and lawyer Kaiser Kamal appeared on behalf of Ishraq. Deputy Attorney General Md Mahfuzur Rahman and Khan Ziaur Rahman stood for the state.
Earlier, Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told reporters that the writ petition could be summarily dismissed.
On May 14, a writ petition was filed by lawyer Kazi Akbar Ali on behalf of one Md Mamunur Rashid. The petition sought a stay on the verdict declaring Ishraq as mayor, as well as a directive preventing his swearing-in.
It also called for the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives to refrain from administering the oath and asked the Ministry of Law to take disciplinary action against the election tribunal judge who issued the ruling.
According to case details, the Dhaka South City elections were held on February 1, 2020. In that election, Awami League’s Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was declared the winner.
However, on March 27 this year, the first Joint District Judge of Dhaka and the Election Tribunal overturned the result and declared Ishraq the mayor.
Following receipt of the verdict, the Election Commission (EC) sought legal advice from the Law Ministry on April 22 regarding publication of the gazette. Despite not receiving a response, the EC went ahead and issued the gazette on April 27, officially declaring Ishraq as mayor.
