HC rejects writ petition challenging Article 70, presidential election schedule

The High Court has rejected a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of Article 70 and seeking a stay on the schedule for the upcoming presidential election.

A bench of Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury and Justice AFM Saiful Karim passed the order on Tuesday.

In its order, the court said the special parliamentary committee formed to consider constitutional amendments may decide on Article 70 of the Constitution.

The court also observed that the schedule for the presidential election had been lawfully declared under the Presidential Election Act, 1991, and found no substance in the writ petition.

Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond, who filed the writ petition, appeared for the petitioner, while Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state.

After the order, the attorney general said, “There is no legal bar to holding the presidential election following the High Court's decision. The details of the order will be known after its full text is released.”

During the hearing, the attorney general strongly opposed the petition, pointing out that petitioner Eunus Ali Akond had previously filed a similar petition before the High Court, which rejected it. Akond did not appeal against that decision before the Appellate Division.

Akond filed the latest petition as a public interest litigation on 13 August. He argued that Article 70 is inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution and democracy, as lawmakers lose their seats if they vote against their political party.

The petition also sought an interim order staying the schedule for the presidential election, set for Thursday (20 August), until disposal of the rule.