The Election Commission has issued a notification cancelling registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami after the EC got a complete order of High Court declaring the party鈥檚 registration illegal.
鈥楨C secretariat issued a notification in this regard on Sunday after it received full High Court order,鈥� EC secretary Helaluddin Ahmed told 抖阴精品.
He said the notification was issued following Article 90H of the Representation of the People Order 1972.
In August 2013, the High Court declared the registration of Jamaat with the EC illegal.
The HC passed the order after accepting a writ petition that challenged the legality of Jamaat鈥檚 registration as a political party.
The then Bangladesh Tariqat Federation secretary general Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 others filed the writ petition on January 25, 2009.
In the petition, they said Jamaat-e-Islami was a religion-based political party and it did not believe in independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.
On November 14, 2008, the EC listed Jamaat as a registered political party in violation of the Constitution, the petitioner claimed.
On January 27, 2009, the HC had issued a rule asking Jamaat鈥檚 chief and its secretary general, and the EC to explain why the party鈥檚 registration should not be declared illegal.
In reply to the rule, the EC told the HC that some provisions of Jamaat鈥檚 charter were against the country鈥檚 constitution and RPO, while Jamaat said the EC committed no wrongdoing by giving registration to the party.
During the hearing on the petition, petitioners鈥� lawyer Tania Amir told the court that some provisions of Jamaat-e-Islami鈥檚 charter go against the constitution, the RPO, and the Charter of Medina.
As per the constitution, Bangladesh鈥檚 political parties cannot have an office abroad, but Jamaat was floated in India and has offices abroad, she said.
Meanwhile, Jamaat鈥檚 chief counsel Abdur Razzaq argued that the writ petition was not acceptable, since Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, which the petitioners belong to, is a religion-based party and not a secular political party.
Later, Jamaat, a partner of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance, filed an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict. The appeal is still pending.
Immediate after the HC order, the EC, which earlier suspended registration of Jamaat, issued the cancellation order.
In 2017, the EC banned the use of 鈥楽cale鈥�, Jamaat鈥檚 monogram, in elections following a directive from the Supreme Court not to allocate the Scale as a symbol in elections.