The Election Commission (EC) has canceled the nomination papers of BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munsi for Comilla-4 seat. At the same time, the nomination papers of National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Hasnat Abdullah have been upheld.
The commission gave this decision after hearing two appeals filed against each other on Saturday (January 17). The order was announced in the afternoon after the hearing held under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasiruddin.
The EC allowed the appeal filed by Hasnat and canceled the nomination of Manjurul Ahsan Munsi. However, the commission rejected the appeal filed by Munshi and declared Hasnat’s nomination paper valid.
In the appeal, Manjurul Ahsan Munshi alleged that Hasnat did not mention his source of income correctly in the affidavit filed with the nomination papers.
On the other hand, Hasnat complained in his appeal that Manjurul Ahsan Munshi had submitted the nomination paper by concealing the fact that he was a debtor.
However, the matter of Manjurul Ahsan Munsi’s debt is pending in the High Court. The Appellate Division chamber court last Wednesday asked the High Court to dispose of the relevant rule within two weeks, suspending the 3-month stay granted by the High Court in its decision to list him as a debtor. In this situation, it is not clear whether Manjurul Ahsan will be able to fight in the 13th National Parliament election or not.
Earlier, the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division stayed the order of the High Court for eight weeks after hearing separate applications (leave to appeal) filed by Premier Bank and IDLC Finance against the order of the High Court. Manjurul Ahsan filed an application seeking the withdrawal of the suspension order, which came up for hearing in the chamber court last Wednesday.
Senior lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan and lawyer Muhammad Saifullah Mamun were present in the court on behalf of Manjurul Ahsan Munsi. Mohammad Hossain, senior advocate for IDLC Finance and Bibhuti Tarafder, advocate for Premier Bank, were present at the hearing.
Later, lawyer Muhammad Saifullah Mamun said that Mam Power Limited took loans from Premier Bank and IDLC Finance. Manjurul Ahsan is the Managing Director of Mom Power. A substantial amount has already been paid to Premier Bank. The bank has rescheduled the loan. A settlement has also been reached with IDLC; Downpayment is given as part of this. Manjurul Ahsan’s nomination papers are still valid. His (Manjurul Ahsan) nomination has nothing to do with this case.
Mohammad Hossain, lawyer of IDLC Finance, said that they (Manjurul Ahsan) applied to withdraw the suspension order given by the Chamber Court. The court did not withdraw the stay, the chamber upheld the stay granted by the court and disposed of the leave to appeal (financed by Premier Bank and IDLC). The High Court has been asked to dispose of the case within two weeks. There are debts, he (Manjurul Ahsan) has approached Bangladesh Bank – something like this is going on. IDLC’s loan has not yet been rescheduled. As such, his name will remain in the CIB report. As a result, it will be impossible for him to participate in the election.
Premier Bank’s lawyer Bibhuti Tarafder said that Manjurul Ahsan’s application to withdraw the moratorium was heard. The chamber court directed the High Court to dispose of the ruling within two weeks, keeping the stay on January 8 in effect. Manjurul Ahsan rescheduled the loan by depositing one and a half crore rupees in Premier Bank on January 13. As such, he is now not in default of the bank.
According to the lawyer, Manjurul Ahsan is the Managing Director of Mam Power Limited. The company and he filed a case in the Fifth Joint District Judge Court of Dhaka not to declare his name as a defaulter and not to send his name to the CIB (Credit Information Bureau) regarding the company’s debt. An application seeking a temporary injunction was filed, which was dismissed on November 5 last year. He then filed various appeals in the High Court. On December 8 last year, the High Court gave an order along with the ruling. The High Court ordered that the name of Manjurul Ahsan Munsi should not be included in the list of defaulters for three months. Later the Chamber Court stayed this order.
