The High Court on Sunday ordered authorities to take into custody the ballot papers and result sheets of the Rajshahi-4 and Pabna-4 constituencies.
A single bench of Justice Md Zakir Hossain passed the order and fixed May 11 for the next hearing on the matter.
Earlier on February 26, the court accepted four election petitions for hearing and set dates for two others.
Under Section 49 of the Representation of the People Order, 1972, an Election Tribunal has been constituted in the High Court to hear petitions alleging electoral irregularities. The single bench led by Justice Zakir Hossain is hearing the cases.
According to the High Court Division’s cause list, the bench has been assigned to hear election-related applications under the Representation of the People Order, 1972, as amended in 2001, along with other transferred matters and related rules.
The four petitions accepted for hearing involve the Sherpur-1, Dhaka-6, Dhaka-7 and Gaibandha-4 constituencies.
The petitioners are BNP candidate Sansila Zebrin (Sherpur-1), Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Abdul Mannan (Dhaka-6), Jamaat candidate Md Enayat Ullah (Dhaka-7) and Jamaat candidate Md Abdur Rahim Sarkar (Gaibandha-4).
Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir represented the three Jamaat candidates, while lawyer Rahemin Chowdhury appeared for BNP candidate Sansila Zebrin.
In the Sherpur-1 case, the petitioner sought cancellation of the election result and a re-election. The court fixed April 20 for the hearing and ordered the issuance of notices to the winning candidate and other respondents.
The court also admitted the three petitions filed by the Jamaat candidates of Dhaka-6, Dhaka-7 and Gaibandha-4 and set May 3 and May 10 for hearings.
During the hearing, Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir argued that there were discrepancies in the result sheets, including the absence of polling agents’ names and Election Commission seals. He also alleged that some entries were written in pencil and that the names of polling centres were missing in certain documents.
After reviewing the submissions, the court admitted the petitions and issued notices.
