A writ petition was filed in the High Court on Tuesday challenging the legality of the February 12 national referendum and seeking an immediate cancellation of its results.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was submitted by Supreme Court lawyer Advocate ABM Ataul Majid Touhid. The petition names the Chief Election Commissioner, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Law Secretary as respondents in the case.

Sources within the court indicate that a High Court bench, led by Justice Fatema Najib, is expected to hear the petition as early as next week.

The legal challenge follows the nationwide referendum held last Thursday, where a proposal for constitutional change secured a majority. According to the Election Commission (EC), the referendum saw a voter turnout of 60.26 percent.

On February 13, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed officially announced the results during a briefing at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon.

The official tally recorded 48,074,429 votes in favor of the proposal and 22,565,627 votes against it.

The petitioner now seeks to have these results nullified, questioning the legal framework under which the vote was conducted.