BNP candidate Manjurul barred from contesting Cumilla-4 seat

The High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi seeking restoration of his candidature in the Cumilla-4 constituency, upholding the Election Commission’s decision to cancel his nomination.

The bench of Justice Raziq-Al-Jalil and Justice Md Anwarul Islam passed the order on Wednesday (January 21) after hearing the petition.

Following the order, senior lawyer Ehsan A Siddiq, representing NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah, said the dismissal means the Election Commission’s decision remains in force.

Earlier, the returning officer had declared Manjurul’s nomination valid. However, Hasnat Abdullah of the National Citizen Party (NCP) appealed to the Election Commission, alleging that the BNP nominee had concealed information about being a loan defaulter in his nomination papers.

After a hearing at the Election Building in Agargaon on January 17, the Election Commission allowed the appeal and cancelled Manjurul’s nomination.

Challenging that decision, Manjurul filed the writ petition with the High Court on Monday.

Senior advocates Ahsanul Karim, Md Ruhul Quddus and ABM Siddiqur Rahman appeared for the petitioner, while Salahuddin Dolon, Syed Mamun Mahbub, Mohammad Hossain and Ehsan A Siddiq represented the NCP candidate.