Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain on Wednesday locked all the entrances to the Dhaka South City Corporation headquarters Nagar Bhaban and its zonal offices for the 12th straight day, demanding his swearing-in as mayor.
Their protest continued amid the Appellate Division鈥檚 adjourning the hearing of an appeal opposing Ishraque鈥檚 swearing-in until this morning, asking the Election Commission to clarify the matter.
The protesters also staged a sit-in on the day at Nagar Bhaban, attended mostly by workers from several DSCC unions, while movement coordinator Moshiur Rahman, formerly a bureaucrat, called on the government to comply with the court order regarding swearing Ishraque in as Dhaka South City mayor.
They also warned of a tougher movement within 24 hours if the Local Government Division failed to administer the mayoral oath to Ishraque by this time.
A seven-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Wednesday postponed the hearing to hear from both the EC and the Local Government Division.
Ishraque鈥檚 lawyer, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, told the court that the EC did not oppose the lower court鈥檚 March 27 verdict which led to the April 27 gazette replacing Awami League鈥檚 Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh with Ishraque as mayor.
He also cited a May 12 letter from the EC to the Local Government Division confirming the replacement.
The appeal was filed by lawyer Mamunur Rashid, a resident of Dhaka South City, challenging the High Court鈥檚 May 22 order that rejected his writ against the lower court verdict and the EC鈥檚 gazette.
The High Court dismissed Mamunur鈥檚 petition, saying he had no legal right to challenge the decision as he was not a candidate in the 2020 DSCC election.
Mamunur鈥檚 lawyer claimed that the lower court鈥檚 decision in favour of Ishraque involved fraud and irregularities.
On the day, another lawyer, Md Jasim Uddin, filed a contempt petition against Sarjis Alam of the National Citizen Party for a Facebook post criticising the judiciary.
In his May 22 post, Sarjis wrote, 鈥業f a High Court verdict can be obtained by creating a mob, what is the necessity of this High Court?鈥�
Jasim argued that the comment insulted the judiciary and was contemptuous of the Supreme Court. The post came after the High Court dismissed Mamunur鈥檚 petition challenging Ishraque鈥檚 mayoral declaration.
The contempt petition is likely to be heard next week in the High Court.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives said that it was awaiting a court order regarding swearing Ishraque in as mayor.
After the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, the interim government declared the DSCC mayoral office vacant on August 19.
