Dhaka, Mar 10: A High Court bench on Sunday sent the long-pending petition, which had been filed challenging the legality of the Election Commission’s decision giving registration to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party, to the Chief Justice. The bench requested the Chief Justice to arrange for resolution of the matter by a larger bench. The HC bench, comprising Justice M Moazzem Hossain and Justice Dr Kazi Rezaul Haque, sent the petition to the Chief Justice requesting him to form a larger bench for disposal of the petition. The HC bench observed that the matter should be resolved by a larger bench since it involves legal as well as constitutional interpretations.
The HC bench came up with the observation when barrister Tania Ameer, counsel for the petitioner, moved before the bench for holding the hearing on the petition.
Earlier, the four-year-old petition came at the daily cause list of the HC bench for hearing on Thursday. Upon a writ petition, an HC bench had earlier asked the Election Commission and the Jamaat-e-Islami to explain why the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party should not be declared illegal.
On January 27, 2009, the bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice MA Hye issued the rule after hearing the petition filed by Bangladesh Tariqat Federation secretary general Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 followers of the federation, Zaker Party and Samilita Islamic Jote on January 25, 2009. This was when the Awami League had just assumed office. It was listed for hearing in 2011 by the bench of AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain, but it was not heard as the bench’s jurisdiction had been changed and the bench reconstituted.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Tania Amir, on February 18 filed an application to the Chief Justice to give the jurisdiction of Justice Shamsuddin Choudhury or to constitute a new bench to hear the matter.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed said on February 23 that the hearing in a writ pending with the Supreme Court challenging the legitimacy of Jamaat-e-Islami would begin soon. The minister, after addressing the annual general meeting of the Bangladesh Registration Service Association, told reporters that it would take two to three weeks to complete the hearing on the writ petition filed in 2009.
Shafique made the remarks in the context of the demand of the protesters at Shahbagh Square, who have organised a movement seeking a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami before March 26 over war crimes it committed in 1971 during the War of Independence.
On November 4, 2008, the Election Commission granted registration to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party under the Representation of People Order (RPO), 1972.
The writ petitioners sought enforcement of Section 90C of the Representation of People Order along with certain Articles of the Bangladesh Constitution, including the Proclamation of Independence and the Preamble.
The petitioners’ counsel Tania Ameer submitted that Jamaat was not eligible to be registered as a political party since it did not effectively fulfil the requirements under Section 90C of the RPO, 1972.
Any one of such disqualifications was sufficient to render a political party ineligible and disqualified for registration, argued Tania Ameer.
Source: The Independent