The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed May 13 for resuming hearing on Jamaat-e-Islami`s appeal against a High Court verdict that scrapped its registration with the Election Commission as a political party.

A full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, set the date, said Jamaat`s lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir.

Jamaat`s appeal hearing began on March 12 this year following a significant development last October when the Appellate Division revived its previously dismissed appeal.

The revived appeal had earlier been set for hearing on September 1, a date fixed by the Chamber Judge`s Court of the Appellate Division.

Jamaat lost its registration status when the High Court declared the party`s registration illegal on August 1, 2013. The Election Commission later issued a notification cancelling the registration on December 7, 2018.

Jamaat challenged the High Court`s verdict, but the appeal was dismissed in November last year by a six-member Appellate Division bench headed by the then Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan due to the absence of the party`s lead counsel. As a result, the High Court`s decision remained in force.

Amid political turbulence, Sheikh Hasina`s government imposed a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, on August 1 under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act during the height of an anti-discrimination student movement.

The Home Ministry subsequently issued a notification banning the organizations. However, the decision was revoked later on August 28 and a new notification was issued withdrawing the ban.

Source: BSS