SC disposes of plea challenging HC order to declare Ishraque DSCC mayor

The Supreme Court today observed that the questions, raised over the post of Mohammad Ishraque Hossain as Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor, fall under the Election Commission's mandate.

The Appellate Division of the SC made the observation after disposing of a leave to appeal petition that challenged a High Court order of upholding both a Dhaka tribunal's verdict and the Election Commission's decision declaring BNP-nominated candidate Ishraque as the DSCC mayor.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order after hearing the petition.

Details of the Appellate Division's observation will be known when the full text of its order is released, EC's lawyer M Yeasin Khan told The Daily Star.

On May 26, Md Mamunur Rashid, who had earlier moved a writ petition before the HC against the tribunal's judgment and the EC's decision, filed the petition with the Appellate Division to review the HC ruling.

Earlier on May 22, the HC had summarily rejected Mamunur's petition, which had sought a stay on the lower court judgment and the EC's decision. The HC's rejection cleared the way for Ishraque to be sworn in as the DSCC mayor.

On March 27, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam overturned the results of the 2020 DSCC election and declared Ishraque the winner, directing the EC to issue a gazette notification within ten days.

The EC complied with the tribunal's directive on April 27.

Advocate Mohammad Hossain Lipu appeared for Mamunur Rashid while Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Ishraque.