, Dec. 10 -- The Appellate Division on Wednesday ruled that Bagerhat district will retain its four parliamentary seats, while Gazipur will continue with five.

The seven-member full bench, headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order.

Earlier, on November 10, a High Court (HC) ruling restored Bagerhat's four seats and Gazipur five, rejecting a decision by the Election Commission (EC) to reduce Bagerhat's seats from four to three.

The HC also directed the EC to publish the updated gazette within 24 hours on that day.

Shortly after the order, the EC and Md Salah Uddin Sarkar, a candidate from Ghazipur-6, filed separate petitions with the Appellate Division seeking a stay order on the ruling.

On November 12, both appeal...