The registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party five years ago by the Election Commission was ‘beyond its jurisdiction’, the High Court said in its full verdict published on Saturday.
The court on Aug 1 had declared ‘void and illegal’ Jamaat’s registration. The full text of the judgment was published after three judges signed it.
The Election Commission has said it will abide by the verdict and start to implement it, meaning the party will not be able to contest the general elections due by Jan 24.
The Jamaat had launched a legal battle against the High Court’s decision but the verdict was also upheld in the Supreme Court.
Justices M Enayetur Rahim and Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque of the High Court bench favoured stripping the Jamaat of its registration. Presiding judge Justice M Moazzam Husain, however, held a different view.
The verdict stated that the party’s charter was in conflict with the Constitution of the land.
Justice Moazzam Husain in the verdict’s summary said, “By majority, rule is made absolute and registration given to Jamaat by Election Commission is declared illegal and void.”
The main part of the full verdict was written by Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque.
He wrote that the Jamaat and Election Commission had argued by saying the registration was temporary but the provision to provide temporary registration could not be traced in the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
It was also not mentioned in the registration.
“JBI [Jamaat-e-Islami] and EC time and again argued that the registration was provisional but we could not find any provision in the RPO to accord provisional registration and on the other hand in the ‘registration certificate’ itself there is no such stipulation that it is a provisional certificate,” he writes.
Jamaat, a key ally of the BNP, got their registration along with 37 other parties during the military-backed caretaker government in 2008. As per the new law, only parties registered with the Election Commission can contest in election.
In 2009, a total of 25 persons, including Bangladesh Tariqat Federation’s Secretary General Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, Jaker Party’s Secretary General Munshi Abdul Latif and Sammilita Islami Jote’s President Ziaul Hasan, moved the court challenging Jamaat’s registration in January the following year.
The High Court, on Jan 27, 2009, issued a ruling asking the EC to explain why the party’s registration should not be declared illegal.
The full verdict states, “The relevant provision very clearly stipulated that EC neither had the authority to register JBI with such a non-compliant constitution, nor it ever had the authority to request JBI to amend its constitution to make it compliant since its registration from its inception was done without any lawful authority.”
“In the result, the Rule is made absolute. It is hereby declared that the registration of Jamat-e-Islam Bangladesh given to it by the Election Commission on 4.11.2008, was done without lawful authority and is of no effect.”
Justice Enayetur Rahim agreed with Justice Reza-Ul Hoque to provide additional logic.
Justice Moazzam Husain, however, disagreed with his colleagues and in his verdict said the petition challenging Jamaat’s registration is not acceptable.
He said he thought justice will be achieved if the Election Commission was directed to resolve the issue of Jamaat’s registration. He ordered that the issue be resolved ‘as fast as reasonably possible’.
The verdict comes at a time when the demand for outlawing the party, accused for war crimes during the Liberation War, has been mounting. So far seven former and present leaders of Jamaat were convicted the International Crimes Tribunals, set up to try crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971.
Arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the sub-continent, Jamaat started its journey on Aug 26, 1941 under the leadership of Syed Abul A’la Moududi with the name Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.-bdnews2.com
