The High Court bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir gave the order on Wednesday (15 March) after dismissing two separate writ petitions regarding the Election Commission (EC) declaring Shahabuddin elected.
On 13 February, the chief election commissioner (CEC) declared Awami League-backed Md Shahabuddin, a former commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, elected president unopposed as he was the lone candidate for the office.
At an emergency press conference at the Election Commission, the CEC went on to explain, “A question has arisen about the legality of the candidate. It is true that Section 9 of the ACC Act provides that no commissioner shall be eligible for appointment to any profitable post in the republic after retirement. In light of this, the matter must be considered. For this reason, many people want to say that the post of president is profitable.”
“Md Shahabuddin was elected to be the next president. We did not recruit anyone for the post, which would definitely be illegal. Neither do we nor anyone possesses the authority to do so. We must understand the difference between an election and an appointment,” he added.
However, on 7 March, Supreme Court lawyer MA Aziz Khan filed a writ seeking suspension of the notification.
The writ was on the agenda of the hearings of the High Court bench comprising of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel on 12 March. However, one of the bench judges was hesitant to hear the writ.
The court then referred the matter to the chief justice for necessary action. On Monday (13 March), the chief justice sent the writ for hearing by the bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir.
On the other hand, on 12 March six Supreme Court lawyers including Abdul Momen Chowdhury and KM Jabir filed another writ regarding the notification of the EC declaring Shahabuddin elected for the position of president.
On Tuesday (14 March) this second writ was also submitted to the bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir for hearing.
