Staff Reporter :
The High Court has deferred its verdict on a writ petition challenging the legality of the Election Commission’s gazette notification that declared BNP leader Ishraq Hossain as the Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The ruling is now scheduled to be delivered today.
The bench comprising Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury passed the deferment order at approximately 1:15 PM on Wednesday, 21 May.
The writ petition, filed by Mamunur Rashid, questions the validity of the 27 March verdict of the Election Tribunal and the subsequent 27 April gazette notification, which nullified the results of the 2020 DSCC mayoral election and declared Ishraq Hossain as the duly elected mayor.
The High Court began hearing the matter on Tuesday, 20 May. Proceedings commenced at 1:00 PM and continued until 2:00 PM, before resuming from 4:10 PM to 5:15 PM. Following the extended arguments, the court initially fixed 12:30 PM on Wednesday for delivering its order.
During Wednesday’s session, Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Advocate Kaiser Kamal, and Deputy Attorney General Mahfuzur Rahman Milon argued in favour of dismissing the petition. Advocate Mohammad Hossain, representing the petitioner, later presented his counterarguments. After hearing both sides, the bench rescheduled the verdict for Thursday.
The petitioner contends that the tribunal’s decision was procedurally flawed and failed to adhere to legal standards. It was also argued that the case should only be appealed by the aggrieved party-namely, former mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh-and not by third parties such as the petitioner.
Opposing counsel further noted that the tenure of the 2020 DSCC mayoral term has effectively ended, as city mayors were removed following the August 2024 change in government. The mayoral position, they argued, has since been vacated by ordinance, rendering the tribunal’s ruling ineffective.
Background to the dispute includes the 1 February 2020 DSCC election, in which Taposh was declared the winner with over 400,000 votes, while Ishraq Hossain received 236,000. On 3 March 2020, Ishraq filed a case citing electoral irregularities.
Following political upheaval in August 2024 that saw the Awami League government ousted and mayors removed, the tribunal on 27 March 2025 overturned the 2020 result and declared Ishraq as the rightful mayor. The Election Commission subsequently issued a gazette on 27 April 2025, formalising the decision.
Following the gazette notification, two individuals – Rafiqul Islam and Mamunur Rashid – served legal notices opposing Ishraq’s appointment and later filed separate court petitions, claiming the gazette was unlawful and improperly executed.
Meanwhile, supporters of Ishraq Hossain have staged a blockade in front of the DSCC headquarters, demanding his official swearing-in. Demonstrations have continued for several consecutive days.
The High Court’s verdict on the matter is now awaited on Thursday.
