High Court declares EC gazette on Pabna constituency delimitation illegal
Earlier, a writ petition was filed challenging the legality of the EC gazette
The High Court today (18 December) declared illegal a gazette issued by the Election Commission (EC) on the delimitation of the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 parliamentary constituencies ahead of the upcoming national polls.
The court also directed the Election Commission to restore the two constituencies to their previous boundaries and publish a fresh gazette reflecting the earlier demarcation.
The verdict was delivered by a High Court bench comprising Justice Fayez Ahmed and Justice Md Manzur Alam after making absolute a rule issued earlier challenging the legality of the EC's gazette.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Following the verdict, Barrister HM Sanzid Siddiqi, counsel for the petitioners, briefed journalists on the outcome of the case.
Earlier, on 16 September, a writ petition was filed challenging the legality of the re-demarcation of the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies ahead of the national parliamentary election. The Election Commission had published a gazette on 4 September finalising the demarcation of all 300 parliamentary constituencies.
Since the publication of the gazette, protests have erupted in several parts of the country, with residents of affected constituencies expressing dissatisfaction over changes to electoral boundaries.
According to the Election Commission's gazette, Pabna–1 constituency includes Santhia upazila and, from Bera upazila, Bera municipality along with Haturia Nakalia, Notun Varenga, Chakla, and Kaitola union parishads, while Pabna–2 constituency was formed with Sujanagar upazila and the remaining parts of Bera upazila, excluding Bera municipality, Haturia Nakalia, Notun Varenga, Chakla, and Kaitola union parishads.
