The High Court has rejected a writ petition seeking an order declaring vacant or void the seat of Abdul Hannan Masud, MP for Noakhali-6 (Hatiya). The writ was filed over allegations that he concealed asset information and committed fraud in the affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission.
A High Court bench of Justice Sikder Mahmud Razi and Justice Fatema Anwar passed the order on Monday.
Zahirul Islam Musa, lawyer for NCP MP Hannan Masud, told journalists that the court dismissed the writ petition as “not pressed, as being rejected”. The court observed that a mismatch in the asset statement in the affidavit is a “question of fact” and cannot be settled through a writ petition in the High Court, he said.
He said there is a proper authority to settle such matters, but the petitioners did not go to it. Considering all aspects, the court dismissed the writ.
Nazmul Hossain, a resident of Hatiya upazila and a voter in the constituency, filed the writ petition on 19 August. It sought an order declaring the Noakhali-6 seat vacant, and a rule asking why Hannan Masud’s membership of parliament should not be cancelled and why action and an investigation against him should not be ordered. It also sought directions to dispose of the applications made to the Election Commission, the Parliament Secretariat and other offices concerned.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report