A writ petition has been filed with the High Court (HC) seeking a stay on the upcoming 13th parliamentary election until the huge amount of weapons looted during the 2024 mass uprising are recovered.

Supreme Court lawyer Md Shahidul Haque filed the writ petition with the concerned branch of the High Court on Wednesday (January 14). Mahmudul Hasan.

Secretaries to the Cabinet Ministry, Home Ministry, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Election Commission Secretary, Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have been made respondents to the writ petition.

According to the writ petition, 5,750 firearms and 651,609 rounds of ammunition were looted from the offices of different police stations and law enforcement agencies during the 2024 mass uprising. It is a matter of great concern that despite the government announcing rewards for the recovery of these weapons, a significant part of them has not yet been recovered.

It also said that the lives of voters and candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections are under serious threat due to the large amount of illegal weapons in the hands of terrorists. In the meantime, the killing of Sharif Usman Hadi, the MP candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency, proves that this election will be bloody if illegal weapons are not recovered. Election Commissioner Brigadier (Retd) Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah said it is very important to recover illegal weapons before the election.

Lawyer Md. Mahmudul Hasan mentioned in the writ petition that the government has not taken any effective measures for the security of the country’s voters despite arranging gunmen for some MPs. In such a situation, holding the election without recovering the looted weapons would be a gross violation of the fundamental rights of voters and candidates under Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh.

Therefore, the writ petition sought a direction to postpone the upcoming national election until all the looted firearms and ammunition are recovered and a safe environment is ensured for the election.