Top Court Clears Mahmudur Rahman Manna for Upcoming Polls

The Supreme Court's Appellate Division has cleared the legal hurdles for Nagorik Oikko President Mahmudur Rahman Manna to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.

On Sunday, the Chamber Court stayed a previous High Court order that had maintained Manna’s status as a loan defaulter in the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) records.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Md Rezaul Haque, temporarily removes Manna’s name from the CIB list, effectively bypassing the election law that prohibits loan defaulters from seeking office.

The legal battle stemmed from a loan linked to Afaku Cold Storage Ltd, a company where Manna serves as Chairman and holds a 50% stake. Islami Bank’s Bogura branch had issued a recovery notice for Tk 380.48 million, originating from a Tk 220 million investment made in 2010.

Manna’s legal team argued that the loan has since been rescheduled and regularized. Counsel for Islami Bank confirmed that following the rescheduling application, the bank no longer classifies Manna as a defaulter.

Under current regulations, any individual appearing on the Bangladesh Bank CIB database is disqualified from candidacy. With the Chamber Court’s stay order, Manna’s lawyer, Jyotirmoy Barua, confirmed there is now no legal obstacle to his participation.

The court noted that further procedural matters regarding his candidacy now fall under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.