Dhaka: The High Court (HC) on Thursday issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why sections 4 (2), 5 and 17 of the district council act 2000 will not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.

A two-member HC bench comprising Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique and Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif passed the order after the primary hearing of a public interest litigation writ petition. 

According to the section 4 (2) of the act, the chairman, members and female members of a district council will be elected a electoral body while section 17 stipulates that city corporations mayor, councillors, upazila council chairmen, vice chairmen, municipality mayors and councillors and union council chairmen and members will be made electoral body members for selecting chairman and members for the respective district councils.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Rumin Farhana filed the writ petition saying the sections 4 (2), 17 and 5 of the district council actare contradictory to the constitution. 

Advocate M Asaduzzaman stood for the petitioner during the hearing. 

On December 4, the HC issued another rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why sections 4 (2), 17 and section 5 (amendment) of the district council act should not be declared contradictory to the constitution.

Besides, another bench of the HC today stayed the effectiveness of the voter list of two union parishads of Satkhira district council election. 

The two-member HC bench of Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique and Justice Krishna Debnath passed the order keeping on the hold the voter list of Koikhali union council and Ramjannagar union parishad in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira.

Following the HC order, there is no scope for holding the district council election in Satkhira until a new voter list is made, said Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan, a counsel of the writ petitioners. 

Election Commission (EC) published the voter list on November 20 for the upcoming district council election. 

However, newly elected chairman of Koikhali UC and 20 members of Koikhali and Ramjannagar UCs were not included in the voter list. 

Two writ petitions were filed with the High Court in this connection.

On November 20, the EC published the schedule for the district council polls slated for December 28.