Ex-CEC Kazi Habibul Awal denied bail

Staff Reporter :

Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has once again been denied bail, this time by a Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, in a case centering on allegations of criminal breach of trust and sedition.

The bail petition was rejected on Wednesday by Dhaka’s Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Nursej Islam following a hearing.

Defence counsel Tapas Chandra Das, who represented Awal, confirmed the decision.

Awal was arrested on 25 June from the capital’s Moghbazar area by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He was placed on a three-day remand the following day and has remained in custody since.

The case was originally lodged on 22 June at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station by BNP National Executive Committee member Md Salah Uddin Khan.

It accused three former CECs-Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, KM Nurul Huda, and Kazi Habibul Awal-along with 21 others of manipulating the country’s 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections.
On 25 June, charges of sedition and fraudulent breach of trust were formally added.

Awal, appointed as CEC in 2022, presided over city corporation and union parishad polls as well as the controversial 2024 general election.

His tenure drew widespread criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who accused the commission of overseeing flawed and partisan electoral processes.

Amid mounting pressure, Awal and other commissioners resigned on 5 September 2024, weeks after the fall of the Awami League government during the mass uprising.