The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated the appeal of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami challenging the High Court verdict that had upheld the cancellation of its registration as a political party by the Election Commission in 2018.
A four-member bench, led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, restored the appeal that was dismissed for the non-appearance of Jamaat lawyers on November 19, 2023.
Seeking restoration of the appeal for hearing, Jamaat鈥檚 lawyer Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq told the Appellate Division that the lawyers could not be present during the dismissal of the appeal as they failed to consult with Jamaat鈥檚 top leaders who were then detained in jail and the party office remained locked.
Jamaat鈥檚 other lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir said that the party would now seek an early date of hearing for the appeal.
On October 29, 2018, the Election Commission revoked the registration of Jamaat, a long-standing ally of the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, following a High Court ruling that deemed Jamaat鈥檚 registration illegal.
This development resulted from an August 1, 2013 High Court verdict which ruled that Jamaat鈥檚 registration with the Election Commission violated legal provisions.
The legal battle began on January 25, 2009, when Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, the then secretary general of the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, an ally of the ruling Awami League, along with 24 others, filed a writ petition challenging Jamaat鈥檚 registration.
The petitioners argued that Jamaat, being a religion-based political party, did not uphold the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.
After the High Court鈥檚 ruling, Jamaat appealed to the Appellate Division, which later upheld the High Court鈥檚 decision.
On August 1, 2024, the Awami League regime led by Sheikh Hasina banned Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir labeling them terrorist organizations under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The ban coincided with the tail end of the student-led movement against discrimination, which eventually ousted the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5.
The interim government, which took power on August 8, after requests from Jamaat, reversed the gazette notification that had banned the party.
