Following a writ petition filed by a Supreme Court lawyer and two others, a High Court bench in its rule also asked the government to show cause why August 15 should not be observed as the national mourning day by declaring it a public holiday.

On Sunday, Advocate Mozammel Huq and two others filed the writ with the court, challenging the order issued during the rule of the immediate past BNP-led alliance government.

The cabinet division secretary, the principal secretary to the chief adviser, and the secretaries of the ministries of law, information, and education have been made respondents of the rule.

Mentioning the great contribution of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the War of Independence, the petitioners said the erstwhile government in 1996 declared August 15 as the national mourning day and a public holiday to pay respect to the father of the nation who was assassinated on August 15, 1975.

But the BNP-led alliance government cancelled the earlier decision through a notification issued by the cabinet division, said the petitioners.