The Supreme Court (SC) has observed that the Representation of People Order (RPO) contains no legal provision to cancel a political party's registration based on the role of its leaders during the Liberation War.
The observation was detailed in a recently released 51-page full verdict by the Appellate Division, resolving a long-standing writ petition that challenged the legality of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's registration.
The 25 petitioners had argued that the party should be barred from domestic politics due to the heinous actions of its leaders during the 1971 Liberation War.
However, the apex court noted that the objection appeared to be emotional rather than legal, emphasizing that the RPO lacks any specific mandate to revoke a party's registration on such historical grounds.
On June 1 last year, a four-member Appellate Division bench, led by then-Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, issued a brief order overturning a 2013 High Court verdict that had declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration illegal.
Following an appeal by the party, the highest court directed the Election Commission (EC) to resolve all pending issues regarding the party's status.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, legal counsel for Jamaat-e-Islami, confirmed that following the court's directive, the EC reinstated the party's registration and allocated its traditional "Scales" (Daripalla) election symbol.
The legal saga began on January 25, 2009, when a group led by Bangladesh Tariqat Federation Secretary General Maulana Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri filed a writ petition seeking to invalidate Jamaat's registration.
Acting on the petition, the High Court revoked the registration on August 1, 2013, stripping the party of its right to contest parliamentary elections. The EC formally canceled the registration in October 2018, just ahead of the 11th national elections.
Jamaat subsequently appealed the High Court's decision to the Appellate Division. The final hearings commenced on December 3, 2024. Notably, no legal counsel appeared to present arguments on behalf of the original writ petitioners during these proceedings.
The verdict also touches upon a historical administrative note regarding the party's election symbol. On December 12, 2016, a Supreme Court Full Court meeting had previously resolved to request the EC not to allocate the "Scales" symbol to any political party, as it serves as the official monogram of the country's highest court.
A formal letter to this effect was sent to the commission on December 14, 2016.
