The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) has set November 6 for holding a hearing on two separate petitions on Jamaat-e-Islami, whose registration as a political party has already been declared illegal by the Election Commission (EC).
One of the petitions was filed for banning political activities of Jamaat-e-Islami, while the other petition is a contempt of court petition against the party.
A four-member bench of the apex court headed by chief justice Obaidul Hassan on Thursday (October 19, 2023) set the date. Barrister Tania Amir was present in the court for the pleas, while advocate on-record Joynul Abedin Tuhin appeared for Jamaat-e-Islami.
In 2013, the High Court declared Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration illegal following a writ petition filed in 2009 by secretary general of Bangladesh Tariqat Federation Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 others.
Later, Jamaat filed a petition challenging the High Court verdict.
On the other hand, Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and two others filed the contempt of court petition with the Supreme Court against five Jamaat leaders, including its Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, for holding public meetings as a political party despite its appeal waiting at the apex court for disposal.
In this petition, they also brought contempt of court charges against some senior government officials for allowing Jamaat-e-Islami to hold the programmes in Dhaka.
The other four Jamaat leaders against whom the contempt of court petition was filed are Jamaat’s secretary general Golam Parowar, central Nayab-e-Ameer Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Dhaka city South Ameer Nurul Islam Bulbul and Nayeb-e-Ameer Helal Uddin.
Senior Secretary of Home Ministry (Department of Public Safety) Md Mostafizur Rahman; Inspector General of Bangladesh Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, and Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Khandker Golam Faruq have been made respondents to the contempt of court petition.
On July 27, forty-two eminent citizens from different professions filed an application with the apex court, seeking its permission to place arguments before it against Jamaat-e-Islami in connection with the contempt of court petition.
The applicants include academician and historian Syed Anwar Hossain; writer and researcher Shariar Kabir; educationist Shyamali Nasreen Chowdhury; actor, stage director and theatre producer Ramendu Majumder.
Meanwhile, 47 supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami on July 31 filed an application with the Supreme Court seeking its permission to place arguments before it in favour of the party’s long pending appeal against the HC verdict that scrapped its registration with the EC.
The 47 applicants include Jamaat’s former lawmakers Dr Syed Abdullah Md Taher, Hamidur Rahman Azad and Hafeja Asma Khatun.
