The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has stated that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission (EC) to decide whether BNP leader Ishraque Hossain will be sworn in as the Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
On Thursday, a full bench of seven justices led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed disposed of a related petition and made this observation.
Barrister A.M. Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Ishraque in court, alongside Advocate Mohammad Hossain.
The Dhaka South City Corporation election was held on February 1, 2020, where Awami League candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was initially declared the winner. However, on March 27, 2024, the Election Tribunal, presided over by Judge Md. Nurul Islam, annulled the previous result and declared Ishraque the elected mayor. Following receipt of the judgment, the Election Commission sought the opinion of the Ministry of Law regarding the publication of a new gazette. On April 27, the EC officially published a gazette declaring Ishraque Hossain as the new mayor.
That same day, legal notices were sent by two residents of Dhaka, urging authorities not to implement the tribunal’s verdict and not to administer the oath of office to Ishraque. Despite the notices, the gazette was published that night.
On May 14, a writ was filed in the High Court seeking to stay the tribunal’s ruling and prevent Ishraque from taking the oath as mayor. The writ also alleged fraud and misconduct in the tribunal’s decision and called for disciplinary action against the concerned judge.
The writ, filed by Supreme Court lawyer Kazi Akbar Ali on behalf of one Md. Mamunur Rashid, was later dismissed by the High Court on May 22, which stated the petition was not admissible for hearing. Following this, Ishraque`s legal team stated that there was no legal bar to his oath-taking.
The Chamber Judge Court had scheduled a hearing for May 28 on an appeal challenging the High Court’s dismissal. On that day, the Appellate Division stated that it would hear the Election Commission’s position regarding the gazette notification declaring Ishraque as mayor and would also hear the leave-to-appeal petition on the same matter.
