Why union chairman candidates should not be graduates: HC

The High Court (HC) has issued a rule asking why candidates for union council chairman should not be required to hold at least a graduate degree, reports bdnews24.com.

The court also asked why Section 26 of the Union Parishads Act, which fails to set any educational qualification for the post, should not be declared inconsistent with the Constitution.

A bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Fatema Anwar issued the rule on Tuesday, hearing the preliminary arguments in a writ petition filed by two Supreme Court lawyers.

The secretaries of the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) and law ministries, along with the Chief Election Commissioner, have been asked to respond to the rule.

Lawyers Quazi Ferdousul Hasan and Md Tanvir Ahmed Khan filed the writ petition with the court.

Hasan told reporters on Wednesday, "A chairman is given various kinds of powers, including the power to run village courts. There, he can handle cases involving up to Tk 300,000.

"Yet the magistrate who holds that same power must complete a law degree and pass the (Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission) exam.