HC rules EC gazette invalid, Bagerhat to retain four JS seats

The High Court has declared invalid the Election Commission’s (EC) recent gazette notification that sought to reduce Bagerhat’s parliamentary constituencies from four to three, effectively restoring the district’s representation to its previous four-seat structure.

The verdict, delivered on Monday, November 10, concluded a final hearing on a legal challenge to the EC’s boundary redrawing plan ahead of the 13th National Parliament elections. The court found procedural and substantive flaws in the EC’s justification for altering constituency boundaries in Bagerhat.

In its July 30 gazette notification, the EC had proposed a redrawing of boundaries across 39 of the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies, aiming to equalise voter numbers. Under the proposed changes, Bagerhat – which had long held four seats – was slated to lose one, reducing it to three. 

The plan would have merged parts of the existing constituencies: Bagerhat-2 (Sadar and Kachua) and Bagerhat-3 (Rampal and Mongla) were to be reconfigured, with Morelganj and Sarankhola moved into a new Bagerhat-3, while Bagerhat-1 (Mollarhat-Fakirhat-Chitalmari) remained unchanged.

The proposed reduction triggered immediate backlash. The Freedom Rights Movement, a civil society organisation, filed an urgent petition on July 31, challenging the EC’s reliance on voter population figures as the sole criterion for boundary delimitation, arguing that historical, geographic, and administrative factors had been ignored.

Kazi Moniruzzaman Monir – a potential BNP candidate for the now-reinstated Bagerhat-4 constituency, senior joint convener of Jatiyatabadi Tanti Dal, a BNP affiliate, and adviser to the Bagerhat unit BNP – filed a writ petition with the Election Commission in Dhaka, objecting to the boundary changes. His petition was later taken up by the High Court.

In its ruling, the court held that while voter parity is an important principle, it cannot override the need for balanced constituency delineation that respects geographical contiguity, administrative feasibility, and existing electoral patterns. The court further noted that the EC had failed to provide adequate justification for dismantling a long-standing electoral structure without broader consultation or transparent data analysis.

“The Election Commission cannot unilaterally alter the number of constituencies in a district through a gazette notification that disregards established norms and legal precedents,” the bench observed.

As a result, the EC’s revised boundaries for Bagerhat are nullified, and the district will retain its four parliamentary seats as they existed prior to the July notification. The EC is now expected to issue a corrected gazette in line with the court’s order.

The decision has been welcomed by local political leaders and residents, who viewed the proposed reduction as politically motivated and administratively impractical. The EC has not yet commented on whether it will appeal the verdict.

With the 13th general election looming, the ruling reinforces the judiciary’s role in safeguarding electoral fairness and institutional accountability.