Staff Reporter:
The Appellate Division on Sunday rejected a writ petition filed by BNP-nominated candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, upholding the Election Commission’s decision to cancel his candidacy for the Cumilla-4 constituency on charges of loan default.
The Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, passed the order after dismissing Munshi’s leave-to-appeal petition.
Earlier, the High Court had declared Manjurul Ahsan Munshi’s candidacy invalid. He later filed an ap-peal challenging the High Court verdict.
The BNP candidate faces allegations of loan default after concealing relevant information in his affida-vit. Although the returning officer initially found his nomination valid, the Election Commission can-celled it on January 17 following objections raised by NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah, who alleged that Munshi was a loan defaulter.
Munshi then filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the Election Commission’s decision. However, the High Court rejected the petition on January 21.
