Supreme Court restores Jamaat’s appeal for registration as political party

The Supreme Court has restored an appeal, which was scrapped earlier, filed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami seeking reinstatement of its registration with the election commission as a political party.

A four-judge bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, restored the appeal in an order on Tuesday morning.

During the hearing, Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented Jamaat-e-Islami.

"The appeal has been restored. The matter will be scheduled for a hearing later," said Advocate Shishir Monir, the counsel for Jamaat-e-Islami.

According to bdnews24.com, in January 2009, 25 people, including Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Tariqat Federation, Munshi Abdul Latif, secretary general of the Zaker Party, and Maulana Ziaul Hassan, president of the Sammilita Islami Oikya JoteI, filed a writ petition challenging Jamaat's registration.

On Aug 1, 2013, the High Court declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration illegal and revoked it.

Jamaat's request for a stay on the ruling was rejected by the Appellate Division's Chamber Court on Aug 5, 2013.

After the High Court's full verdict was published, the Election Commission officially cancelled Jamaat's registration through a gazette issued on Oct 29, 2018.

Jamaat-e-Islami appealed following the publication of the full verdict, but due to the absence of their lead counsel, a six-member Appellate Division bench led by former chief justice Obaidul Hassan dismissed the appeal on Nov 19, 2023.