The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing for a week on the appeal filed by Jamaat-e-Islami challenging a High Court verdict that scrapped its registration with the Election Commission as a political party.
The apex court fixed January 21 for resuming the hearing after closing today’s session.
Earlier in the day, a four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, started the second day’s hearing on the appeal, with Jamaat’s lawyer Ehsan A Siddiq placing arguments.
On October 22 last year, the apex court restored the appeal for a hearing following a petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami.
On that day, another lawyer for Jamaat, Mohammad Shishir Manir, told The Daily Star, “If the Appellate Division allows the appeal after holding a hearing on it, Jamaat will get back its registration and be able to participate in the elections.”
On September 1 last year, he submitted the restoration petition to the apex court on behalf of Jamaat Secretary General Miah Golam Parwar, seeking necessary directives.
On November 19, 2023, a five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Obaidul Hassan, the chief justice at the time, dismissed Jamaat’s appeal for “default” as its counsel did not appear before the court on that day.
Maulana Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, along with 24 others, filed a writ petition with the HC on January 25, 2009, seeking an order declaring the Jamaat’s registration illegal.
The petitioners said that the Jamaat is a religion-based political party, and it does not believe in the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.
Following the petition, the HC on August 1, 2013, declared Jamaat’s registration with the EC illegal.
The EC scrapped Jamaat’s registration in October 2018, ahead of the 11th national election.
In the verdict, two judges of the three-member HC bench declared the registration illegal. However, the other judge disagreed with the decision of his two colleagues.
Jamaat filed an appeal with the apex court at that time challenging the HC verdict.