Appellate Division to decide on BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury’s oath plea tomorrow

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is set to deliver its order tomorrow (14 May) on a petition filed by Aslam Chowdhury seeking publication of his election result and permission to take oath as a member of parliament.

A five-member Appellate Division bench led by the chief justice fixed the date today (13 May) after partially hearing the matter.

Aslam Chowdhury, a candidate of the BNP, was declared the winner in the Chattogram-4 constituency in 12 February national election. However, his result has remained suspended following a court order.

The legal dispute began after the Election Commission on 18 January upheld the validity of Aslam's nomination despite allegations that he was a loan defaulter.

A bank later challenged the EC's decision through a writ petition, but the High Court dismissed the plea. The bank subsequently appealed to the Appellate Division.

Separately, Md Anwar Siddique, a candidate of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, filed a leave-to-appeal petition against the High Court order.

On 3 February, the Appellate Division granted leave to appeal against the verdict that had upheld Aslam Chowdhury's candidacy. While allowing him to contest the election, the court ordered that publication of the result would remain suspended until disposal of the appeal.

Following his electoral victory, Aslam filed the current petition seeking publication of the withheld result and permission to take oath.

Lawyer Shishir Manir, representing the Jamaat candidate, said the court held a partial hearing today and would issue its order tomorrow.

"We argued that if such an application is accepted before disposal of the main appeal, the necessity of the appeal itself would no longer remain," he said.