The High Court on Sunday summarily rejected a writ petition seeking cancellation of registration of the Awami League as a political party.
The petition alleged that the party鈥檚 involvement in the mass murder of students during the uprising from July 16 to August 5, which led to the fall of prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.
The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam, dismissed the petition filed by Arifur Rahman Murad Bhuiyan, the executive director of Narsingdi-based Sarda Society, a non-government organisation, in the public interest.
The court observed that the petition was not maintainable as it failed to include the Awami League and the Election Commission as respondents, preventing a proper contestation of the case.
When the court questioned if the Awami League involved in the crimes during the student-led movement, petitioner Murad claimed that leaders and affiliated bodies of the party were engaged in criminal activities during the unrest.
The court further noted that the interim government was committed to prosecuting those individuals responsible for subversive acts.
Murad demanded that the Awami League should be banned due to its alleged criminal activities during the movement, similar to the home ministry鈥檚 gazette banning the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on August 1, just four days before the AL government was ousted by the student-led mass uprising.
The then ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance decided to ban Jamaat on July 29, following an Appellate Division ruling on November 19, 2023, that upheld the Election Commission鈥檚 decision to cancel Jamaat鈥檚 registration as a political party.
Additionally, both the Appellate Division and the International Crimes Tribunal, in several war crimes verdicts, labelled Jamaat as a criminal organisation for its role during the 1971 War of Independence.
Earlier, attorney general Md Asaduzzaman argued for the petition鈥檚 summary dismissal, stating that the NGO lacked the legal standing to request a ban on a political party.
He also emphasised that the interim government had no policy to ban political parties, as it would infringe upon fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, assembly and association.
He added that entertaining such a petition would risk tarnishing the judiciary鈥檚 image.
