The High Court (HC) said that loan defaulters cannot have legal rights to contest elections.
The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman made the observation during the hearing of a writ petition on Thursday (November 4).
Mohiuddin Siddique, a candidate for the post of union parishad member at Sonaigachhi union under Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram, submitted the writ petition challenging legality of a decision of the district election office that on October 25 had cancelled his nomination paper for being a loan defaulter.
The election of Sonaigachhi UP is scheduled to be held on November 11.
During the hearing, Mohiuddin’s lawyer Advocate Rezaul Hossain Morshed told the HC bench that his client cannot take part in the election and his constitutional rights are being violated.
The HC told the lawyer that the petitioner could have paid off the loan as he is very keen to contest the polls.
The HC bench also dropped the petition from the cause list, meaning cancellation of Mohiuddin Siddique’s nomination will remain in force. The court said that law is equally applicable to everyone.
