HC adjourns until Wednesday hearing on writ petition challenging June 7 BCB elections

The High Court on Tuesday adjourned until Wednesday the hearing on a writ petition that challenged the legality of the election schedule and voter list for the upcoming Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections slated for June 7.

The bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice Md Ashif Hasan passed the adjournment order after hearing for Tuesday.

During the hearing, the court sought records of similar cases that had previously been heard by other benches. Those documents will be reviewed at the next hearing, BCB’s lawyer Mahin M Rahman told The Daily Star.

Advocate Mohammod Hossain Lipu and Advocate Azim Uddin Patwary appeared for the writ petitioners while Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state and National Sports Council and Barrister Mahin M Rahman argued for BCB.

Six BCB councillors, including Armanul Islam Noyon submitted the petition on May 18 also seeking stay on the process for holding BCB elections on June 7.

They argued in the petition that although the BCB General Council is constituted for a four-year term, the BCB Constitution requires fresh nominations of councillors whenever a new Board election is held.

The National Sports Council (NSC) dissolved the board, it did not dissolve the General Council and therefore, the current election process has not complied with the constitutional provisions governing who is entitled to vote in the election, the petitioners said in the petition.

BCB’s counsel Mahin M Rahman opposed the writ petition saying that that Article 12.7 of the BCB Constitution clearly requires fresh nominations of General Council members before a new election can take place.

On that basis, the BCB maintains that the ongoing election process is being conducted in accordance with the Constitution.

Besides, the election process is already at an advanced stage. Through the e-voting system, 42 councillors have already cast their votes, and September 7 is the final date of the election process. In these circumstances, suspending or disrupting the election would not be practical, the BCB’s lawyer argued.

The BCB Election Commission announced the schedule for the 2026 BCB Board of Directors elections through a notice issued on May 16, setting June 7 as the date for voting.

Earlier, on May 17, the commission published the draft voter list.

Under the election process, 23 directors will be elected directly by the councillors, while two more directors will be nominated by the NSC. The 25-member board will subsequently elect the BCB president from among themselves.

Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal argued that representatives of the International Cricket Council (ICC) are already in Bangladesh and are monitoring election-related activities.

Filing such petition at this stage and casting doubt on the election process could create confusion in the international arena, he said.