Larger High Court bench to hear rule on Islam as state religion of Bangladesh Monday

A larger bench of the High Court will hear on Monday final arguments on a previous rule that questioned the insertion of Islam as state religion in the Constitution.

A two-member bench of the court had issued the rule in December 2011.

Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore had also asked why the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, that made Islam the state religion of Bangladesh, should not be annulled.

The amendment made in June 1988 during the tenure of military strongman HM Ershad inserted Article 2A in the Constitution which gave Islam the status of state religion.

Fifteen eminent persons filed a writ petition the same year challenging the change in the Constitution.

They are former Supreme Court judge Justice Kamal Uddin Hossain, National Professor Kabir Chowdhury, Prof Khan Sarwar Murshid, Prof Mosharraf Hossain, retired Maj Gen CR Duttta, Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury, writer Badaruddin Umar, journalist and writer Faiz Ahmed, Borhan Uddin Khan Jahangir and Prof Anisuzzaman.

Of them, only Duttta, Umar, Jahangir, Serajul Islam and Anisuzzaman are alive.

According to the cause list of the High Court, the three-member bench headed by Justice Naima Haider will hear the petition after 2pm.

The two other members of the bench are Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice MD Ashraful Kamal.

The petitioners’ lawyer Zoglul Haider Afrik told bdnews24.com the chief justice formed the larger bench following their petition filed on Sep 6 last year.

The previous bench that issued the rule had also appointed nine lawyers as amici curiae, or friends of the court, for advice.

They are TH Khan, Kamal Hossain, Rafique-Ul Haque, Amir-ul-Islam, Rokanuddin Mahmud, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, M Zahir, Mahmudul Islam, Fida M Kamal, ASM Mesbahuddin and Abdul Matin Khasru.