Dhaka, June 1 (IANS) In a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Sunday ordered the reinstatement of the radical Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration as a political party, overturning a previous High Court judgment that had declared the party’s registration illegal.
According to local media reports, the top court also directed the Election Commission (EC) to implement the order without delay.
However, the court refrained from issuing any directive regarding the party’s electoral symbol, the “scales,” leaving that decision to the discretion of the EC.
The verdict was delivered by a four-member Appellate Bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, as reported by a leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune.
This development comes just days after the same court acquitted Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam, overturning the death sentence handed to him by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
The charge sheet had accused Islam of killing 1,256 people, abducting 17, and raping 13 women in the Rangpur region during the war.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s legal battle to regain its political status traces back to August 1, 2013, when the High Court declared its registration illegal in response to a writ petition.
The Election Commission followed suit by formally cancelling the registration through a gazette notification in December 2018.
Although Jamaat appealed the High Court’s verdict, the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal in November 2023 due to the absence of the party’s lead counsel.
As a result, the High Court verdict had remained in effect — until now.
The party’s recent legal resurgence followed the ouster of the Awami League government, led by Sheikh Hasina, in a violent mass uprising last year.
In the wake of the upheaval, Jamaat filed a fresh petition seeking to revive its appeal and regain its status as a registered political party.
In October, the Appellate Division accepted Jamaat’s petition, setting the stage for Sunday’s ruling.
The interim government under Muhammad Yunus, which assumed power following the fall of the Awami League, had earlier lifted the ban on Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, through a gazette notification.
These groups had been declared illegal political entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 by the previous administration.
These radical elements played a key role in the student-led agitation that led to the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s democratically elected government.
–IANS
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