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The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Nagorik Oikko President Mahmudur Rahman Manna to contest the upcoming parliamentary election by suspending a High Court order that had barred him from running.
The Appellate Division’s Chamber Court stayed the High Court ruling that had denied Manna’s request to have his name removed from the Credit Information Bureau (CIB)’s list of loan defaulters.
Justice Md Rezaul Haque, sitting as chamber judge, also ordered that Manna’s name be retracted from the CIB list for the time being, bdnews24.com reports.
After the High Court rejected his petition, he challenged the decision before the Appellate Division.
His legal team also sought permission to reschedule the loan and have his client’s name removed from the defaulters’ list.
Senior lawyers Ahsanul Karim and Mamun Mahbub represented Manna during the hearing.
Ahsanul told the court that the bank loan in question had been rescheduled and that there was therefore no legal barrier to Manna contesting the election.
The chamber judge concurred with the lawyer and said any further action would fall within the Election Commission’s remit before ordering a stay.
Islami Bank’s lawyer M Abdul Kaiyum also confirmed that the court had stayed Manna’s listing in the CIB database maintained by Bangladesh Bank. Under the election law, individuals listed as loan defaulters in the CIB are not eligible to contest polls.
“As the CIB listing has been stayed, there should be no obstacle to his participation in the election at this stage,” Kaiyum said.
He added that the issue stemmed from a loan taken by a company linked to Manna, which had earlier become classified. The loan has since been rescheduled and is now being regularised following an application to the bank.
“As things stand, Islami Bank is no longer treating him as a loan defaulter,” said Kaiyum.
Court documents revealed that on December 10, Islami Bank’s Bogura Borogola branch issued a notice seeking recovery of Tk 380.48 million from Afaku Cold Storage Ltd, a company chaired by Manna.
The notice, sent to Manna and two of his business partners, asked that the outstanding amount be cleared by December 18.
Afaku Cold Storage received approval for an investment of Tk 220 million in 2010 but later failed to make regular payments of profits, charges and penalties, leading to the accumulation of the outstanding sum, according to the bank.
Manna owns a 50 per cent stake in the company, with the remaining shares held by its Managing Director ABM Nazmul Kadir Shajahan Chowdhury, and Director Ismat Ara Laizu.