Dhaka, Nov. 10 -- The High Court has declared illegal the gazette notification issued by the Election Commission (EC) that reduced Bagerhat's four parliamentary seats to three.

A bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif directed that the previous four seats be reinstated.

The court delivered the verdict on Monday, upholding a prior order on the matter.

Lawyer Shaikh Mohammad Zakir Hossain argued on behalf of the writ petitions during the hearing.

Leading up to the 13th parliamentary election, the EC first proposed cutting Bagerhat's four seats to three on Jul 30. Several political parties rejected the proposal and held multiple programmes, including strikes and blockades. The commission also held a hearin...