BNP-nominated Cumilla-4 candidate Manjurul Ahsan remains loan defaulter as HC order stayed

The Appellate Division’s chamber judge court today (8 January) halted a High Court (HC) order, that earlier stayed the inclusion of BNP-nominated candidate for Cumilla-4 constituency (Debidwar upazila), Engineer Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, from the list of Bangladesh Bank’s loan defaulters, for eight weeks, restricting him to contest the general election scheduled for 12 February. 

Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP alliance candidate Hasnat Abdullah is contesting from the seat.

Lawyers said he will not be eligible to contest the upcoming national election following the order. Manjurul is the managing director of a company named MAM Power Ltd and his name was included in the list of defaulters for failing to repay loans taken from Premier Bank and IDLC Finance Ltd.

Following hearings on separate petitions filed by the both lending organisations seeking a stay on the HC order, Chamber Judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order. Lawyer Bibhuti Tarfder represented Premier Bank during the hearing.

Earlier, on 8 December, the HC stayed for three months the inclusion, circulation and publication of the names of MAM Power Ltd and candidate Manjurul as defaulters or wilful defaulters in the CIB report. 

The HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to respond within four weeks while the central bank sent a copy of the stay order to the Election Commission.

After scrutiny of nomination papers on 2 January 2, the returning officer and Cumilla Deputy Commissioner Md Reza Hasan declared his nomination valid, prompting NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah to question the transparency of the process. 

In his affidavit, Munshi mentioned that his name on the loan defaulters list had been stayed by an HC order.