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First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Jamaat-e-Islami is now legal in Bangladesh after country's Supreme Court lifts ban on the controversial party
The Appellate Division of Bangladesh's Supreme Court reinstated Jamaat-e-Islami's registration, allowing it to contest elections. The court asked Election Commission to reinstate the party without any delays read more The Appellate Division of Bangladesh's Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Jamaat-e-Islami's registration as a political party, making it legal to contest in polls. In the Sunday ruling, the court ordered the Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh to implement the order without any delay. However, the court did not issue any order regarding the party's electoral symbol, the scales. Instead, the court left the matter of the symbol to the Election Commission. The Sunday judgment was delivered by a four-member Appellate Bench headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed. The ruling overturned the ban imposed by the High Court on the party. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to Bangladeshi news outlet The Dhaka Tribune, the Jamaat-e-Islami party was represented by Barrister Ehsan Abdullah in the court. On August 1, 2013, the Bangladeshi High Court declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration illegal. The party was declared illegal in response to a writ petition. The fall of the Awami League led to the rise of JeI Following the 2013 judgement, on December 7, 2018, the Election Commission issued a gazette officially cancelling Jamaat's registration. The party soon appealed the High Court's ruling. However, in November 2023, due to the absence of Jamaat's principal counsel during the hearing, a six-member Appellate Division bench led by then-Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan dismissed the appeal, stating that the case was 'dismissed for default.' As a result, the Jamaat's registration remained invalid in effect. Things changed for JeI after the fall of the Awami League-led government; the party applied to have their appeal, seeking reinstatement of their registration, revived. The Appellate Division eventually accepted the party's petition, and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared at the hearing on behalf of the party. With the JeI now declared legal, the next election in Bangladesh would have another old party contesting against the BNP.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Jamaat-e-Islami regains political status after Bangladesh top court reverses ban
Listen to article Bangladesh's Supreme Court has reinstated the political registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, overturning a 2013 High Court ruling that had barred the country's largest religious party from participating in elections for over a decade. The ruling, issued on Sunday by a four-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, directed the Election Commission to immediately restore Jamaat's registration and resolve all outstanding matters, including the allocation of its election symbol. Jamaat had lost its legal status under the premiership of Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power following mass protests in August 2024 and subsequently went into exile in India. In her final months in office, Hasina also imposed an executive ban on the party in August 2023. READ: Protests grip Bangladesh The transitional government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which assumed office after Hasina's ouster, had revoked that executive order, setting the stage for Sunday's legal reversal. 'With the verdict, a multiparty democracy and inclusive election has been acknowledged,' said Jamaat's lawyer, Mohammad Shishir Manir, speaking outside the court. He added that the 2013 decision had been politically motivated and that the new ruling reflected judicial fairness. The verdict follows the Supreme Court's May 27 decision to overturn the conviction of senior Jamaat leader A.T.M. Azharul Islam, who had been sentenced to death in 2014 for alleged war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. Islam was released on May 28 after spending over a decade in prison. READ: Bangladesh begins first trial of Sheikh Hasina aides Jamaat-e-Islami had supported Pakistan during the 1971 war, a stance that remains controversial in Bangladesh. The party was long opposed by the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina and her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's founding leader. The ruling opens the way for Jamaat to contest in the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections, expected later this year. In a broader shift, the Awami League itself was banned by the interim government in May pending trial over its alleged role in suppressing last year's anti-quota protests that led to Hasina's removal. READ MORE: Hasina blamed for BD deadly crackdown
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Bangladesh top court reinstates Jamaat-e-Islami's registration as political party
Dhaka: 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.
