The High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition that sought a directive against administering the oath of office to BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), clearing the way for his swearing-in.

A bench comprising Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury passed the order, rejecting the petition filed earlier this month.

On May 14, Dhaka South resident Md Mamunur Rashid filed the writ petition seeking a stay on Ishraque’s swearing-in and disciplinary action against the judge who declared him mayor.

The petition also challenged the validity of the lower court’s verdict, which overturned the result of the 2020 DSCC polls.

The same High Court bench had fixed May 22 for delivering its order on the matter after hearing arguments on May 21.

Advocate Kazi Akbar Ali represented the petitioner during the hearing, while Ishraque was represented by his legal team, who welcomed the decision and said there was now no legal barrier to his taking oath as DSCC mayor.

The development comes nearly two months after a lower court annulled the 2020 DSCC election result and declared Ishraque Hossain, the BNP-nominated candidate, as the rightful mayor. 

On February 1, 2020, Awami League candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was declared the winner of the DSCC election, defeating Ishraque by a margin of nearly 200,000 votes. However, on 27 March 2024, Judge Md Nurul Islam of the Dhaka First Joint District Judge and Electoral Tribunal nullified that result and declared Ishraque the victor.

Following the verdict, the constitutional body sought legal advice from the Ministry of Law on 22 April regarding publication of the gazette. Subsequently, on 27 April, the Election Commission issued a gazette notification announcing Ishraque Hossain as the new mayor of DSCC. 

Meanwhile, Ishraque’s supporters have staged demonstrations in front of Nagar Bhaban and Matsya Bhaban in recent weeks, demanding immediate assumption of office by the newly declared mayor.