Due process wasn’t followed to suspend Zahangir as Gazipur mayor: High Court

The expelled Awami League leader, however, currently has no chance to return to the mayoral post in Gazipur

The suspension of Zahangir Alam as the mayor of Gazipur City Corporation has not followed the due legal process, the High Court observes.

The expelled Awami League leader, however, currently has no chance to return to the post won by his mother Jayeda Khaton in a recent election.

The High Court bench of Justice Zafar Ahmed and Justice Md Bashir Ullah passed the verdict on Sunday.

“In its observation, the court said the due legal process was not followed in the suspension of Zahangir Alam from the post of Gazipur mayor. Details will be provided in the full verdict,” said lawyer Belayet Hossain, who represented Zahangir.

In 2018, the Awami League picked Zahangir as its candidate for the mayoral race, and he was elected mayor in a landslide victory.

He was ejected by the Awami League and suspended from the post of Gazipur mayor over allegations of making objectionable comments about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Liberation War martyrs in 2021. Cases were filed against Zahangir in different districts.

Zahangir filed the petition on Aug 14, 2022 in a bid to get back his post in the city corporation.

The High Court issued a rule later that month, asking why Zahangir’s suspension will not be declared illegal. The local government secretary and other officials were asked to respond to the rule.

The party reinstated him as a member in January, but expelled him again after he decided to join the mayoral race, defying the Awami League’s decision to nominate Azmat Ullah Khan as its mayoral candidate.

Zahangir filed his nomination to contest the poll as an independent candidate but his candidacy was scrapped for him being the guarantor of a defaulted loan.

He delivered a major upset to the ruling party by propelling his unfancied mother Jayeda Khaton to the office of mayor of Gazipur.