CHT Regional Council Act illegal: HC

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The High Court (HC) has declared that the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council Act of 1998 unconstitutional for violating the "sanctity of a unitary state", but that the CHT Peace Accord is legal, reports bdnews24.com.
The bench of justices Syed Refaat Ahmed and Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury gave the ruling on a petition challenging the peace accord
The HC had earlier ruled that it could not consider the constitutionality of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. It held that the since the agreement was political in nature - "an accord between belligerents" - it could not be judicially reviewed by the court.
The agreement was signed between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbatya Chattagrame Jana Sanghati Samity in 1997.
The petitioners who had challenged the legality of the accord, had argued that the court could consider whether or not the state had acted beyond its authority in executing the accord, notwithstanding the fact the issue had political undertones.
The judges started delivering their decision Monday, ending with observations on Tuesday that included.
The court had stated on Monday that it would be making a number of "observations" about legislation that has been enacted subsequent to the peace accord.
This included the CHT Regional Council Act and Hill District Council Act.