SC rejects Jamaat's stay plea

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition seeking stay on a High Court verdict that declared illegal the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami with the Election Commission.
The rejection means the verdict will remain in force until the apex court issues further order.
Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik passed the order, saying there is no logical ground in the petition for staying the verdict, and even the petitioner’s lawyer did not place any argument in support of the petition.
Jamaat could move a regular appeal before the Appellate Division against the verdict after getting its full text, and the apex court will decide on the whole matter, the judge said.
Jamaat’s lawyer Tajul Islam told The Daily Star that they would submit a fresh petition with the SC seeking stay on the verdict along with the regular appeal.
On August 1, following a writ petition, a three member special HC bench declared illegal the registration of Jamaat as a political party and ruled that the registration has no legal effect.
During Monday’s proceedings, Tajul Islam prayed to the chamber judge either to adjourn hearing of the petition or to drop it from the hearing list, as the senior lawyer for Jamaat Abdur Razzaq was not in the court.
Meanwhile, writ petitioners’ lawyer M Amir-Ul Islam, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Additional Attorney General MK Rahman opposed the arguments of Tajul Islam and prayed to the court to reject the stay petition.
They said Jamaat has filed the stay petition with the SC soon after the HC has delivered the verdict on August 1.
Jamaat is now trying to stay away from the petition, which is an unfair practice, they argued.
They also said that there is no merit in the petition of Jamaat for staying the HC verdict and therefore the petition should be rejected.