The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday cancelled the candidature of BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury, who had been unofficially declared elected from the Chattogram-4 constituency in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election, ruling that he was disqualified because of a loan default.
The judgement, delivered by a four-member bench headed by the Chief Justice, means the election result for the constituency cannot be gazetted, preventing him from taking the oath as a member of Parliament. The apex court had concluded hearings on June 15 and fixed June 30 for delivering its verdict.
Senior lawyers Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Miftah Uddin Chowdhury represented Aslam Chowdhury, assisted by Advocate Rokon Uddin Md Faruk. Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal appeared for the state, while Senior Advocate Kamal Ul Alam represented Bank Asia PLC.
During the proceedings, the Appellate Division appointed two senior lawyers, M Kamrul Haque Siddique and Probir Neogi, as amicus curiae on June 20 to assist the court.
The legal dispute began on January 3, when the Returning Officer declared the BNP leader’s nomination paper valid. Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Anwar Siddiqui and Bank Asia PLC later challenged the decision before the Election Commission, alleging that he was a loan defaulter.
The Election Commission dismissed the appeals on January 18, allowing his candidature to stand. Separate writ petitions challenging that decision were then filed before the High Court, which rejected both on January 27, clearing the way for him to contest the election.
He contested the February 12 parliamentary election from Chattogram-4 as the BNP candidate and was unofficially declared elected. However, publication of the official result was suspended under an earlier order of the Appellate Division.
On February 3, the Appellate Division granted leave to appeal against the High Court’s judgement after a petition was filed by Anwar Siddiqui. The court ordered that if the BNP candidate won the election, publication of the result would remain suspended until the appeal was finally decided.
Separate appeals were filed on March 31. The Chamber Judge’s court later referred the case to the regular Appellate Division bench for hearing on April 28. The matter subsequently appeared on the court’s cause list several times before the final hearing.
Following Tuesday’s ruling, Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal said there would be no legal bar to Aslam Chowdhury contesting a fresh election if one is held in the Chattogram-4 constituency.
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