Deadline deferred to government by a week: Final hearing on polls

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Monday, 21 April 2008

Staff Correspondent
The High Court Sunday deferred the final hearing of public interest litigation, which asked the caretaker government to explain why it failed to hold the national polls by the 90-day deadline.

An HC bench of justices MA Rashid and Ashfaqul Islam deferred the hearing for a week following an appeal from the Election Commission, which was submitted by assistant attorney general Jafar Imam.

Barrister Masud Reza Sobhan, who filed the litigation on Jan 24, 2008—way beyond the 90-day timeframe from the dissolution of parliament, said the EC's appeal could not be justified.

The law officer, however, said the EC may vest the responsibility of conducting the writ petition with government counsels.

But Sobhan said the EC's appeal had only been submitted to delay the final hearing on the issue.

Imam told bdnews24.com that the commission had applied for a two-week extension on the hearing, but the court had only granted one week.

Earlier, the HC had issued a rule nisi asking the government to explain why it should not direct the EC to hold the elections within a reasonable timeframe after hearing the public interest litigation.

The same court also asked the chief adviser, the Election Commission and the law secretary to explain why their failure to hold the national polls within 90 days from the dissolution of parliament should not be declared illegal.

A High Court bench led by Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Muminur Rahman on March 2 issued an order setting March 19 for hearing the motion, but the chief justice on March 17 changed the writ jurisdiction of the judge.

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