The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday deferred the election to Bangladesh Bar Council until August 26.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, passed the order after hearing a time-petition.
The Apex court asked the Bar Council chairman and its councillor secretary to publish the updated voter list by July 30 and fix August 3 for resolving any dispute over the voters' list. It also ordered voters to carry their national identity cards or passport while exercising their franchise in the Bar Council polls. Earlier, on May 28, the apex court asked the Bar Council chairman (attorney general) and its secretary to publish the updated voter list by July 12 and to hold the election on August 13.
As the voter list updating remained incomplete, Attorney General Mahbube Alam filed a time-petition to the Appellate Division seeking the adjournment of the polling day. On May 24, the Appellate Division fixed May 28 for passing an order on the three petitions filed against the High Court order staying the Bar Council election for three months.
The High Court on May 21 stayed for three months the election to Bangladesh Bar Council scheduled for May 27 following objections over voter the list and polling procedure.
The election to the Bar Council was scheduled for May 27. It was earlier shifted from May 20 following allegations of anomalies in the voter list.