BANGLADESH: Jamaat-e-Islami registration illegal

The High Court Thursday declared illegal the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami with the Election Commission. A three-member panel of the HC passed the judgement after accepting a writ petition that challenged the legality of Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration as a political party. Bangladesh Tariqat Federation’s 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 Election Commission (EC) listed Jamaat as a registered political party in violation of the Constitution and the spirit of the Representation of People Order (RPO) Ordinance, 2008, petitioners said. During Thursday’s judgement, two judges of the three-panel bench, declared the registration illegal after accepting the writ petition. The remaining member of the panel however disagreed with the decision of his two colleagues. The observation of the judge could not be known immediately. Justice M Moazzam Husain who led the three-member panel announced the short verdict without making an observation. Justice Moazzem however did not reveal the names of two judges who declared the Jamaat registration unlawful. He also refrained from mentioning the name of the judge who passed the dissenting opinion. Two other judges of the panel are: Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque. The HC bench concluded hearing on the petition on June 12, saying it would deliver its verdict any day. On January 27, 2009, the HC had issued a rule asking Jamaat’s chief and its secretary general, and the EC to explain why the party’s registration should not be declared illegal. In reply to the rule, the EC told the HC that some provisions of Jamaat’s charter were against the country’s constitution and RPO, while Jamaat said the EC had not done any illegality by registering the party. During the hearing on the petition, petitioners’ lawyer Tania Amir told the court that some provisions of Jamaat-e-Islami’s charter are contrary to Bangladesh’s constitution, the RPO, and the Charter of Medina. The Charter of Medina, signed and executed by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and representatives of other religions around 1,400 years ago, was inherently secular and essentially democratic, she added. Tania also said the EC’s decision to register Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party was illegal and unconstitutional, as Jamaat is a communal political party and does not believe in Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty. As per the constitution, Bangladesh’s political parties cannot have an office abroad, but Jamaat was floated in India and has offices abroad, she said. Meanwhile, Jamaat’s 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. They cannot challenge the legality of any other political party’s registration, he said, adding that Jamaat-e-Islami is a democratic political party. The EC has not committed any illegality while registering Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party, since the commission has done it to uphold its democratic norms, Razzaq added.