The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday granted a petition to restore the appeal made against the verdict that declared the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami illegal.
An appeal petition challenging a High Court verdict that declared Jamaat's registration with the Election Commission (EC) as a political party illegal has been revived by the Appellate Division of the SC.
The four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order on Tuesday after considering an application made by the party seeking to revive the appeal petition.
Now, the apex court will hold a further hearing on the petition, which was rejected by the same court last year, and issue an order.
The Apex court dismissed the appeal petition filed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on November 19 last year as no lawyer represented the party during the court hearing on that day.
Later, the party filed two separate petitions seeking to revive an appeal and a leave to appeal condoning the delays in this matter.
The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the SC on September 1 this year sent the petitions to its full bench for a detailed hearing and fixed October 21.
Accordingly, the petition was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday in the Appellate Division's cause-list.
Lawyers Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq and Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared in the court hearing on behalf of Jamaat, while Mohammad Ali Azam, as an Advocate on Record, represented the writ petitioners.
Later, lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir said, "The apex court previously rejected the appeal petition because no lawyer represented Jamaat during the hearing. It means the appeal was not rejected on merit.
The High Court issued a certificate to file a direct appeal against its verdict as constitutional matters are involved in the case, he said.
This type of case cannot be rejected without a hearing he further said adding if an appeal is dismissed through such a process, the appellant may apply to revive the appeal.
Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, Secretary-General of Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, along with 24 others, filed a writ petition with the HC on January 25, 2009, seeking its order declaring Jamaat's registration illegal.
Following the writ petition, the HC declared Jamaat's registration with the EC illegal on August 1, 2013. Jamaat then filed appeal petitions with the apex court challenging the HC verdict.
The EC scrapped the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami in October 2018, making it clear that the party would not be able to contest any election using its name or banner.
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