Delivering the verdict on the pending public interest litigation (PIL) writ petition, an HC division bench comprising Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed also vacated its stay order on all the operations of the DCC polls.
Emerging from the court, Dr Shahdeen Malik, the counsel for the Election Commission (EC), told reporters that the HC judgment cleared the way for holding the overdue DCC polls. “Now the EC is ready to hold the election,” he said.
On April 16 last year, upon a PIL writ petition challenging the validity of the election schedule, the High Court stayed all actions over holding elections to the bifurcated DCC slated for May 24 and asked the EC to update the DCC electoral roll.
Passing the interim orders, the HC had also issued rule upon the EC to explain why it should not be directed to hold DCC elections after implementation of the prescribed election-related rules of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act-2009, including delimitation of the DCC wards.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the PIL writ petition.
Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared for the PIL writ petitioner, while Dr Shahdeen Malik for the EC. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam assisted by Deputy Attorney General Mukhlesur Rahman stood for the government.
