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The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Wednesday cleared the way for BNP lawmaker Sarwar Alamgir to fully discharge his duties as a member of parliament, removing the last legal obstacle to his participation in the Jatiya Sangsad.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, struck from its cause list an application seeking to bar the newly elected MP from attending parliamentary sessions.
Following the order, Attorney General Barrister Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajal said there was no longer any legal impediment preventing Sarwar Alamgir from functioning as an elected lawmaker. He noted that the election gazette had already been published and the MP had taken the oath of office, allowing him to attend parliamentary proceedings without restriction.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Md. Ahsanul Karim and Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister A.M. Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Sarwar Alamgir during the hearing. Senior lawyers Mohammad Shishir Monir and Azim Uddin Patwari appeared on behalf of rival Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Muhammad Nurul Amin.
The legal dispute stemmed from a challenge filed by Nurul Amin against a High Court judgment that upheld the Election Commission’s decision validating Sarwar Alamgir’s candidacy. Along with his appeal, Nurul Amin had sought a stay on the High Court verdict and requested that the court prevent Sarwar Alamgir from taking part in parliamentary sessions until the appeal was finally resolved.
The Appellate Division heard arguments on July 27 and 28 before issuing its order on Wednesday.
The case dates back to the period before the 13th parliamentary election, when the Election Commission cancelled Sarwar Alamgir’s candidacy over allegations that he was a loan defaulter. Challenging the decision, he filed a writ petition before the High Court, which restored his nomination and allowed him to contest the election.
Nurul Amin subsequently appealed to the Appellate Division. While the apex court permitted Sarwar Alamgir to remain in the electoral race, it temporarily suspended publication of the election result until the appeal process advanced.
Although Sarwar Alamgir emerged victorious in the February 12 parliamentary election, the official declaration of his victory was delayed because of the court’s earlier directive.
Later, acting on instructions from the Appellate Division, the High Court disposed of the pending rule and, on July 9, declared Sarwar Alamgir’s candidacy valid. On the same day, the Election Commission published the official gazette declaring him elected, after which he was sworn in as a member of parliament.
Nurul Amin then filed another application, arguing that the Election Commission had issued the gazette notification and arranged the oath-taking ceremony before the full text of the High Court judgment had been released.
However, with Wednesday’s order removing the application from consideration, the Appellate Division effectively ended the immediate legal challenge, confirming that there is no remaining legal obstacle to Sarwar Alamgir’s participation in parliamentary proceedings as the elected representative of Chattogram-2.
