The Appellate Division on Sunday rejected a leave to appeal filed by BNP candidate Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan, barring him from contesting or voting in the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election from Comilla-10.
At the same time, the court accepted for hearing a leave to appeal filed by BNP candidate Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan, allowing him to participate in the election from the same constituency.
However, the Appellate Division ordered that the election result of Mobasher Alam will remain pending until the appeal is disposed of.
The Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, passed the orders.
Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan had sought restoration of his candidacy after the High Court dismissed his writ petition challenging the Election Commission’s decision to cancel his nomination.
Earlier, Bangladesh Cultural Liberation Alliance candidate Kazi Nur Alam Siddiqui had raised allegations before the EC that Gafur Bhuiyan was a dual citizen.
After a hearing on January 18, the EC rejected Gafur Bhuiyan’s nomination. He subsequently filed a writ petition in the High Court, which was dismissed outright on January 22. He then moved the Appellate Division with a leave to appeal, which was also rejected.
In a separate case, Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan, contesting with the BNP’s paddy sheaf symbol, had filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the cancellation of his nomination over allegations of loan default.
Following a hearing, the High Court on January 25 issued a rule, stayed the EC’s decision to cancel his nomination and directed that he be allotted the paddy sheaf symbol, which he has already received.
Later, rival candidate Hasan Ahmed filed a leave to appeal in the Appellate Division against the High Court order.
The Appellate Division has now accepted the appeal for hearing, allowed Mobasher Alam to contest the election, but ordered that the election result in his case will remain subject to the final outcome of the appeal.
