HC rejects writ petition, no bar to Ishraque swearing in as mayor

There is no bar to BNP's Ishraque Hossain swearing in as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, as the High Court rejected the writ that sought to suspend the Election Commission gazette declaring Ishraque as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation. 

The High Court bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury passed the order today (22 May). 

As a result of this order, there remains no legal barrier for Ishraque to take oath as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, said lawyers.

Ishraque's supporters, who had been protesting on the roads for a week now, expressed joy after the High Court dismissed the writ petition. However, they said they would not leave the field until two advisers—Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan and Mahfuj Alam—resigned.

A BNP leader, Sihab Uddin, told TBS, "The verdict was in our favour, but these two advisers delayed the process for too long. We believe they have lost their credibility to remain on the advisory council. They should return to their political party."

Another protester, Imtiaz, said, "We will not go home until all our demands are met. We will wait until Ishraque takes his seat at City Hall and the advisers resign. We'll leave the field only when our top leaders announce it."

'Ishraque must take oath by 26 May or it will be considered contempt of court'

Following the High Court hearing, Ishraque's lawyer Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon stated that if the oath is not administered by 26 May, it will be considered contempt of court.

Speaking to the media after the court's decision, Barrister Khokon said, "This order removes any legal obstacle to Ishraque taking the oath as mayor. If he is not sworn in by 26 May, it will be a violation of the court's directive."

Explaining the rationale behind the court's dismissal of the writ, Barrister Khokon said the High Court observed that although any aggrieved person can file a writ under Article 102 of the Constitution, the petitioner failed to establish how they were personally affected as a resident of DSCC.

Citing the court's observations, he added, "The High Court stated that since the petitioner lacked the legal standing to file the writ, it was dismissed. The court also noted that the matter should have been taken to the appropriate Election Tribunal rather than being brought directly to the High Court."

The High Court further emphasised that the case originated from the Election Tribunal. If someone is aggrieved by a decision there, they must appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. Since no such challenge was made, the Election Commission lawfully issued the gazette, and the oath-taking will proceed accordingly.

"This is not a public interest litigation," Khokon said. "Public interest cases typically involve environmental, human rights, or fundamental rights issues. The petitioner failed to demonstrate any civic or voter-based harm to justify this as a public interest case."

He (the petitioner) could not demonstrate any lack of community service as a voter of Dhaka city, nor could he show that he had been harmed in any way as a voter.

Earlier, on 27 March, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam overturned the 2020 Dhaka South election result, declaring Ishraque as the rightful winner as its mayor.

The EC on 27 April issued a gazette notification declaring Ishraque as the Dhaka South mayor.

One Mamunur Rashid, a resident of Dhaka South, on 14 May filed the writ petition to the HC, challenging the legality of the tribunal's verdict and EC's gazette notification.

Ishraque's supporters have been carrying out protest programmes for the past few days. They said their next steps will depend on the court's decision and confirmed that their ongoing demonstration in front of Nagar Bhaban will continue until then.

Five employee unions of Dhaka South also threatened to suspend all civic services, including waste management, if Ishraque is not allowed to assume office.