Despite winning the vote for the Chattogram-4 parliamentary seat, BNP candidate Aslam Chowdhury has been barred from taking office due to "defaulting on a loan".
It was not clear from the decision whether the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate, who received the second-most votes, would be declared the winner automatically, or a fresh election would be held, reports bdnews24.com.
The four-member bench of the Supreme Court's Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury scrapped Aslam's candidacy in a decision on Tuesday, suspending the results of the election.
Lawyers say that the Election Commission (EC) will decide its course of action once the full verdict is published.
Lawyers Miftah Uddin Chowdhury and AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Aslam at the court hearing.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir and Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir represented the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for the seat, Anwar Siddique. They were accompanied by Md Azim Uddin Patwary.
Bank Asia was represented by lawyer Kamal Ul Alam and Jamuna Bank by lawyer ASM Shariar Kabir at the hearing.
Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the state. Speaking to the media after the verdict, he said it would "inappropriate" to comment on the decision without seeing it in its full form.
"From my long experience in the legal profession, I can say that the people have elected their representatives through their opinions and votes. The representative who was elected, due to a legal matter, did not fully reflect the opinions of the people. I hope that the people will get the opportunity to deliver their verdict again," he said.
Asked if a by-election could be held for the seat, the attorney general said: "Perhaps."
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
