The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has granted a petition to restore the appeal made against the verdict that declared the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami illegal. The Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed and consisting of four judges, issued this order on Tuesday. Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddique and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented Jamaat in the court. As a result of today's order, the appeal against the verdict that declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration illegal will again be heard in the highest court. After the order, lawyer Shishir Monir told journalists, “The Appellate Division had earlier dismissed the appeal during the hearing regarding the cancellation of Jamaat's registration because no lawyer was present on behalf of the party. “However, as constitutional questions were involved in the case, the High Court had referred it directly to the Appellate Division. The petition was made to restore the appeal as its dismissal without a hearing was deemed inappropriate. Along with this, there was also a petition for delayed forgiveness. The Appellate Division granted our petition. Now, the appeal regarding the cancellation of Jamaat's registration will be heard again.” After resolving a writ petition, the High Court issued a verdict on August 1, 2013, cancelling and declaring the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami illegal. Subsequently, on December 7, 2018, the Election Commission (EC) issued a notification cancelling the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Later, Jamaat appealed against the High Court's verdict. However, since Jamaat's main lawyer was absent during the appeal hearing against the High Court's verdict, the Appellate Division, led by the then-Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, issued a dismissal order on November 19 last year. Consequently, the High Court's verdict declaring the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami illegal remained upheld. Nevertheless, the appeal that had been dismissed was restored for hearing after the fall of the Awami League government. On September 2, the chamber court set the petition for hearing in the full bench of the Appellate Division on October 21. However, on October 22, the matter came up in the hearing schedule of the Division. Will serve, not rule people if given opportunity: Jamaat Ameer Meanwhile, during the ongoing anti-discrimination movement, on August 1, the then Awami League government declared a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification banning Jamaat, Chhatra Shibir, and their other affiliated organisations under section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act. However, on August 28, the decision to ban Jamaat and Shibir was revoked through a notification.

The Appellate Division on Tuesday (March 12, 2024) stayed the High Court order on keeping the primary and secondary schools closed during the month of Ramadan. A 5-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan  passed the order hearing an appeal filed against the High Court order. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for the state while Advocate AKM Faiz stood for the writ petitioner. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told reporters that following the Appellate Division order there will be no bar on running schools during Ramadan. Primary, secondary schools to remain closed during Ramadan: HC On March 10, the HC stayed for two months the government’s decision to keep the primary and secondary schools open in the first 10 and 15 days of Ramadan respectively. The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order following a petition seeking closure of school activities during Ramadan. Advocate Mahmuda Khanam stood for the writ petitioner while deputy attorney general Sheikh Md Saifuzzaman represented the state. On February 8, the government amended the holiday list for educational institutions keeping the regular activities of secondary schools open for 15 days during the month of Ramadan. The Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard. In another notice, the Primary and Mass Education Ministry issued a notice to keep the activities of primary schools during the month of Ramadan for ten days. Female student assaulted at JnU dormitory, journalist threatened Advocate Md Ilias Ali Mandal, a guardian, filed a writ petition on February 25, challenging the two orders of the government. Secretaries to the Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Education Ministry, deputy secretary of Primary and Mass Education Ministry and deputy secretary of Education Ministry, Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Department, Director of Child Welfare Trust were made respondents.

The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division in the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday stayed a High Court (HC) verdict that sentenced five top officials  of the Agrani Bank including its Managing Director Murshedul Kabir to three months' imprisonment for disobeying a lower court order earlier. Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing a petition in this regard. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for Agrani Bank in the court while counsels Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Momtaz Uddin Fakir, Shamim Khaled and Barrister Tanjibul Alam represented the bank officials. Rape case in Uttara: Main suspect, associate arrested The defendants’ lawyers said the HC verdict will remain suspended until March 18 following Thursday’s verdict. As a result, the officials will not have to surrender before the trial court within this period and police will not have jurisdiction to arrest them, they said. On January 23 this year, the HC sentenced the five officials to three months' imprisonment for defying a court order by including Moon Group's name in the list of Credit Information Bureau (CIB) of Bangladesh Bank (BB). The four other officials are its principal branch’s General Manager Md Fazlul Karim, on post-retirement leave (LPR) General Manager AKM Fazlul Haque, Deputy Manager-2 Shyamal Krishna Saha and Deputy Managing Director-1 Wahida Begum. Advocate Nurul Amin who stood for the Moon Group said the HC sentenced the officials for contempt of court and ordered to confiscate their properties while details will be known when the full verdict is published. 634 people arrested for robbery in 2023: RAB Later, a petition was submitted with the Chamber Judge Court on Wednesday against the HC verdict. It was learned that on September 20, 2021, the principal branch of the bank sent a letter to the Moon Group to pay 25 percent of its dues in installments. The letter reads if the group does not refund 25 percent of the loan by September 30, 2021, it will be listed as a defaulter and sent to the BB’s CIB. Challenging the legality of the bank's letter, a decree was sought in the lower court. At the same time, a temporary ban was sought against the bank's letter on behalf of the group. Being rejected by the lower court, the group submitted a miscellaneous appeal with the HC against this order while the HC issued status quo on the bank's letter and a rule as well. Meanwhile, the bank sent the group to the BB’s CIB listing it as a defaulter for not paying 25 percent installments of the loan within the stipulated time. Man gets life term for raping young girl in Natore Later, the group submitted a violation case against the five with the HC in this regard. After hearing the case, the court sentenced five officials to three months' civil imprisonment. According to the case statement, the group owed Tk 539 crore to Agrani Bank till 2017.

The Appellate Division on Monday (January 22, 2024) upheld the High Court order that ordered demolition of the Gulshan Shopping Centre in Dhaka's Gulshan-1 within 30 days. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, passed the order following a petition filed by the owners challenging the HC order. In July 2023, two companies namely Bani Chitra and Films filed a writ seeking the HC directive to demolish Gulshan Shopping Centre citing safety concerns. HC issues rule on inaction of the authorities to control fireworks and lanterns Following the writ, on Dec 13, the HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Ataullah ordered the demolition of the center within a month. Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Rajuk and others were asked to implement this directive. On July 13, 2023, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) in a mobile court drive sealed off the shopping centre as it was found risky. HC orders Dhaka court to hear bail pleas of Mirza Abbas, Annie Regional Executive Officer and Executive Magistrate Zulkar Nayan and Executive Magistrate Md Mahbub Hasan conducted the mobile court. In 2021, the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence declared the market risky and abandoned due to the dilapidated building and lack of fire fighting system and sent a letter to the DNCC to take legal action regarding the issue on an urgent basis. Young woman gang-raped while looking for rented home in Ctg; 1 arrested Zulkar Nayan, regional executive officer and executive magistrate of Zone-3, said, "The shop owners were instructed repeatedly to vacate the building to prevent any kind of humanitarian disaster as the Gulshan-1 shopping centre is risky, but they did not vacate it."

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday (August 20, 2023) ordered to continue the trial proceedings after dismissing a petition submitted by Nobel laureate and Chairman of Grameen Communications, Dr Muhammad Yunus, and three others in a case over violation of labour law. A regular and full bench consisting of seven justices of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after hearing the petition, said the defendants’ counsel, Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun. On September 9, 2021, Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman, of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, filed the case with Dhaka's 3rd Labour Court. Read: Labour law violation case: SC orders disposal of rule on charge framing against Dr Yunus within two weeks Other accused in the case are: Ashraful Hasan, Managing Director of Grameen Telecom, and its directors, Nurjahan Begum and Shahjahan. According to the case, in an inspection visit to Grameen Telecom, inspectors of the department found that 101 workers and staff who were supposed to be permanent were not made so. No participation fund and welfare fund were formed for them and five percent of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers following the law. Read: Appellate Division orders Dr Yunus to pay NBR Tk 12 crore tax on donations Later on December 7, Prof Yunus filed a petition with the High Court seeking scrapping of the case. On December 12, HC stayed the procedure of a case for six months. On June 6 this year, the Labour Court ordered the trial in the case through framing chargesheets against the accused. Later, Dr Yunus filed a petition with the HC seeking cancellation of the charge framing order. Subsequently, on August 8, the HC rejected the petition. Read more: Supreme Court to hear Dr Yunus's petition on July 23 Later, the Nobel laureate filed the petition with the Appellate Division seeking cancellation of the charge framing order. The division led by the chief justice cleared the petition after hearing it on Sunday.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today (July 23, 2023) ordered Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus to pay Tk 12 crore tax on donations to the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR) after dismissing a leave-to-appeal in this regard. A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, passed the order after hearing the leave-to-appeal submitted by Dr Yunus against a High Court verdict. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the state during the hearing, while Fida M Kamal and Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun stood for Dr Yunus. Earlier on June 21, a leave-to-appeal was filed against the High Court verdict. On July 9, the chamber court set July 17 for hearing in the Appellate Division. Read: HC asks Dr Yunus to pay  over Tk 12 crore as donation tax On July 17, the Appellate Division adjourned till July 23 the hearing on the appeal against the High Court verdict. According to the petition, NBR served three separate notices claiming Tk 12,28,74,000 tax against Tk 61.57 crore donation during 2011-2012 fiscal year, Tk 1.60 crore tax against Tk 8.15 crore donation in FY 2012-2013, and Tk 1.50 crore tax against Tk 7 crore donation in FY 2013-2014 as per the Donation Tax-1990. Read: Trial against Dr Yunus to continue in labour court: Appellate Division Dr Yunus challenged the validity of NBR's notices and filed a case in the Appellate Tribunal. According to him, NBR cannot claim tax against donations as per law. On November 20, 2014, his application was rejected. Then in 2015, he filed three income tax reference cases in the High Court. After that, the High Court ruled on May 31 that the tax imposed by the NBR against the money that he had donated to three trusts was valid. After the verdict on May 31, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told reporters that Dr Yunus had donated Tk 77 crore to three institutions. “The petitions were dismissed. Now the tax demanded by the NBR will have to be paid. The NBR had demanded more than Tk 15 crore. He (Dr Yunus) has already given around Tk 3 crore. Now the remaining Tk 12 crore will have to be paid in taxes.” Read more: HC stays labour law violation case against Dr Yunus for 6 months

The Appellate Division on Monday suspended bail of Jagannath University student Khadijatul Kubra for another four months in two cases under the Digital Security Act(DSA). An Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order. Advocate BM Elias Kachee and Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua stood for Khadija, while Assistant Attorney General Saiful Alam represented the state. Students demand release of JnU student Khadija Khadija was granted bail by the High Court on February 16 in two Digital Security Act cases. The state filed petition challenging the bail. During the hearing, Khadija's lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua argued that she was not accountable for the opinions expressed by guests in videos on her YouTube channel. The Appellate Division responded that Khadija, “as a first-year honours student, should be able to accept responsibility for the opinions aired on her talk show program.” Steps taken to prevent misuse of DSA: Law Minister In October 2020, police filed two cases against Khadija and retired Maj Delowar Hossain at the Kalabagan and New Market Police Stations for 'spreading anti-government propaganda and harming Bangladesh's reputation.' The allegations in the two cases filed a week apart, were similar. Police arrested Khadija on September 17, 2022. She has been imprisoned since then. Over 7,000 cases under DSA: Law Minister According to the case details, Khadija and Delowar conspired to broadcast false, fabricated, and defamatory propaganda about the Prime Minister, various government agencies, and senior state officials in order to oust the country's legitimate administration. They were aiming to destroy communal harmony through their conspiracy by promoting enmity, hatred, and division among various communities, it said. Khadija was 17 when the cases were filed under the Digital Security Act in 2020, but the case was filed showing her as an adult, according to her lawyer. Despite having kidney disease, Khadija's bail petitions were repeatedly denied by a Dhaka court, he said.    

The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division on Sunday stayed the High Court order that had granted bail to Golam Kibria Boro Monir, vice-president of Tangail district unit Awami League and his wife Nigar Aftab in a rape case. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order. It also asked Kibria, also the general secretary of District Bus Minibus Owners Association, to surrender before the lower court within two weeks. Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun stood for the accused while Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappi represented the state. On April 5, a 17-year-old girl lodged a complaint against Kibria for violating her with Sadar Police Station. According to the case statement, Kibria had a conflict with the brother of the girl over the ownership of a portion of property. On December 17, Kibria asked the girl to meet him at a building at Court area in the district and tried to make physical relations with the girl. As the girl refused to do so, he snatched away the mobile phone of the girl and violated her after confining in a room. Also read: High Court questions hike in price of performing hajj Kibria also threatened to kill her if she disclosed the matter to anyone, said the statement. When the girl got pregnant, Kibria put pressure on her for abortion. Being refused, the girl was abducted to the house of Kibria’s in-laws on March 29 where Kibria’s wife beat her up physically. She was again violated there. When the girl fell sick they brought the girl to her house at the dead of night. The girl also made her statement under section 22 before the court.  

The Appellate Division on Sunday stayed a High Court (HC) order until May 8 that granted bail to Sohel Rana, the owner of the ill-fated Rana Plaza that collapsed in 2013 leaving 1,138 RMG workers dead, in a murder case over the deadly incident in Savar. Chamber Judge Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique passed the order after hearing a petition submitted by the state seeking a stay order in this regard. Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain and Assistant Attorney General Saiful Islam represented the state while former Food Minister Advocate Kamrul Islam stood for the accused. On that day (May 8), the regular bench of the Appellate Division will hold a hearing upon a petition to be submitted by the state, Assistant Attorney  General Saiful said. Earlier on April 6, a High Court bench granted bail to Rana in the case. The HC bench of Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Shahed Nuruddin granted bail to Rana declaring  the HC rule in this regard valid. Advocate-on-record Sufia Khatun, on behalf of the state, filed a petition seeking a stay on the Rana’s bail order on Sunday. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing, killing 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others. Read more: Rana Plaza Collapse: HC grants bail to prime accused Rana Trial in the murder case filed over Rana Plaza collapse began officially on January 31, 2022 by recording statements of the witnesses. On July 18, 2016, Dhaka District and Session Court Judge SM Kuddus Zaman framed charges against the accused and passed an order to begin the trial. But it got barred as most of the accused appealed to the higher court challenging legality of the order. On January 31 last year, after clearing the appeals, District and Sessions Court Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan recorded the statement of plaintiff, then Sub-Inspector of Savar police station Wali Ashraf. Over the tragic incident then SI of Savar police station Wali Ashraf filed a murder case accusing the owner and others of dereliction and negligence in building construction. On June 1, 2015, Assistant Superintendent of Crime Investigation Department (CID) of police Bijoy Krishna Kar submitted charge sheet in the case against 41 people including the building owner Sohel Rana. A total of 594 people were made witnesses in this case.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today upheld the High Court order on Viqarunnisa Noon School and College authorities to admit 56 students to class 1. The three-member bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after rejecting four separate petitions filed by the authorities concerned of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed stood for Viqarunnisa while senor Advocate Prabir Niyogi, Barrister Syed Ahed Raza and Barrister ABM Altaf Hossain represented the students. Barrister Altaf Hossain said the number of total petitioners is 56 and their siblings are already studying in Viqarunnisa. On January 16, the Ministry of Education issued a circular stating that only an additional 5 percent of the total seats in any institution, including the entry class, can be filled with applicants whose siblings are already studying in that institution for the 2023 academic year. The guardians of 56 students filed separate petitions after failing to enrol their children at the designated school. Also read: HC orders Viqarunnisa Noon School to admit siblings of 41 students Later, the High Court stayed the section 14 of the guidelines for 41 students. The High Court also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why section 14 of the guidelines should not be declared illegal. On January 31, the HC directed Viqarunnisa Noon School and College authorities to admit 41 students, siblings of the students who are already studying there, to class 1. The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Quader and Justice Mohammad Ali passed the order after hearing the writ petition filed by the parents of the 41 students.