The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has removed from its cause list an appeal seeking to bar BNP candidate Sarwar Alamgir from performing his duties as an MP from the Chittagong-2 constituency in the 13th parliamentary election.
As a result, there is no legal bar to his performing his duties as an MP, lawyers said. However, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for the constituency may file a regular appeal against the High Court verdict if he wishes.
A four-member Appellate Division bench headed by the Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury passed the order on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an appeal seeking to prevent BNP candidate Sarwar Alamgir from attending parliamentary sessions after taking his oath as an MP was scheduled for an order on Tuesday, but no order was issued. The matter was heard again that day, after which the Appellate Division set a new date for delivering its order.
Earlier, the High Court declared the Election Commission’s decision upholding Sarwar Alamgir’s candidacy illegal. Jamaat candidate for Chittagong-2, Muhammad Nurul Amin, filed an appeal against the verdict.
Nurul Amin sought a stay on the operation of the High Court verdict and an injunction preventing Sarwar Alamgir from attending parliamentary sessions until the appeal is disposed of.
Lawyers Ahsanul Karim and AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon appeared for Sarwar Alamgir, while Mohammad Shishir Monir and Azim Uddin Patwari represented Muhammad Nurul Amin.
Earlier, an application was filed with the Appellate Division seeking an order preventing Sarwar Alamgir from attending Parliament. In the application, Nurul Amin sought a ban on Sarwar Alamgir’s participation in parliamentary proceedings until the appeal is resolved.
After the returning officer declared Sarwar Alamgir’s candidacy valid, rival candidate Nurul Amin appealed to the Election Commission, alleging that Sarwar was a loan defaulter. Following a hearing, the Election Commission cancelled Sarwar Alamgir’s nomination on January 18.
Challenging the decision, Sarwar Alamgir filed a writ petition with the High Court. On January 27, the High Court stayed the Election Commission’s order and issued a rule allowing him to contest the election. Nurul Amin subsequently sought leave to appeal before the Appellate Division, which granted leave on February 3.
At the same time, although Sarwar Alamgir was allowed to contest the election, the court ordered that the publication of the election results be withheld until the appeal was disposed of.
