Legal notice issued to administer oath to Ishraque as Mayor today

A legal notice has been sent to the Ministry of Local Government, urging it to administer the oath to BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) by today.

On Monday (May 26), Ishraque’s lawyer, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, dispatched the notice.

Meanwhile, an appeal has been filed with the Appellate Division challenging the dismissal of a writ petition that sought to prevent Ishraque from taking oath as DSCC mayor. The appeal was filed by Advocate Zahirul Islam Musa, who represents the petitioner.

Advocate Musa said the hearing on the appeal may take place on Monday before the Chamber Judge.

On May 22, the High Court dismissed the writ petition, ruling it was not maintainable for hearing. Lawyers have stated that this clears the way for Ishraque to take the oath as mayor.

Following the High Court’s ruling, Ishraque’s lawyers urged the government to arrange the oath-taking promptly, warning that any delay would amount to contempt of court.

The writ petition had sought to stop Ishraque from assuming office and called for punitive action against the first joint district judge and election tribunal judge of Dhaka, who declared Ishraque mayor after annulling the 2020 DSCC election results.

The DSCC election was held on February 1, 2020, where Ishraque lost to Awami League’s Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh by nearly 200,000 votes. However, on March 27, the election tribunal declared Ishraque the winner and mayor. Following the tribunal’s verdict, the Election Commission officially declared Ishraque the new mayor on April 27.