Gazipur mayor can now work

The Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for Gazipur City Corporation Mayor MA Mannan to continue discharging his duties.

The court passed “no order” on a petition filed by the government seeking a stay on the High Court order that halted the suspension of Mannan.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the “no order” after hearing the government petition moved by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.

Mannan's lawyer barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told The Daily Star that the HC's stay order on the suspension of his client would remain in force following the apex court order.

Therefore, there is no legal bar for Mannan to continue discharging his duties, he added.

On July 6, the Local Government Division suspended Mannan for the third time as a Gazipur court accepted the charge sheet in a corruption case filed against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Following a writ petition filed by Mannan challenging the suspension legality, the HC on July 9 stayed the government's suspension order for three months.

It also stayed the government order that appointed Ashadur Rahman Kiron as panel mayor of the GCC for the next three months and directed the authorities concerned of the government to allow Mannan to continue his office as the elected mayor of GCC.

At the same time, the HC issued a rule asking the government to explain why its suspension order on Mannan should not be declared illegal.

The government then filed a petition with the SC, seeking a stay on the HC order.

Elected GCC mayor on July 6 in 2013, Mannan performed his duty for only some 18 months as he was accused in 30 cases and had been in jail for the rest of the time. He had earlier been suspended twice.