High Court stays Sylhet Mayor Ariful’s suspension
Published : 03 Apr 2017, 17:47
The High Court today stayed the suspension of Sylhet city Mayor Ariful Huq Chowdhury a day after the government issued the order.
The suspension of the Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful was stayed for three months.
Earlier yesterday, the government suspended him on the ground that a court accepted charge sheet against him in a case.
In response to a writ petition filed by Ariful, the HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain in a week as to why the suspension of Ariful as SCC mayor should not be declared illegal.
In the rule, it also asked the government to show cause as to why the provisions of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, under which Ariful was suspended, should not be declared unconstitutional, Ariful’s lawyer Barrister Muhammed Abdul Halim Kafi told The Daily Star.
He also said there is no legal bar for Ariful to discharge functions as SCC mayor following the HC order.
The HC bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan also fixed April 9 for holding hearing on the rule.
The bench came up with the order and rule after hearing the writ petition filed by pro-BNP Mayor Ariful challenging the legality of the LGRD ministry’s decision to suspend him and the provisions of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009 that allows the LGRD ministry to suspend a mayor.
The LGRD ministry served a suspension order on Ariful yesterday, citing that a Sunamganj court on March 22 accepted a charge sheet against him in a case over a grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Sunamganj in 2004.
Meanwhile, another suspension order was issued on Rajshahi Mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, saying a Rajshahi court accepted charge sheets against him in two cases filed under the Explosive Substances Act.
Both the charge sheets were accepted around two years ago.
The Rajshahi and Sylhet mayors were all set to rejoin office yesterday following the Apex Court verdicts in their favour last month.
Source: thedailystar