Supreme Court decides not to let any political party use 'weighing scale' as symbol

The Supreme Court has decided not to let any political party use its monogram, the 'weighing scale', as an electoral symbol.

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A full court meeting of the Supreme Court on Monday took the decision to send a letter to the Election Commission, asking it to bar political parties from using the symbol, High Court Division Additional Registrar Sabbir Faiz told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.

Faiz said the letter would be sent to the EC on Wednesday.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed Bangladesh's independence, had been using the image of the 'weighing scale' - a symbol of justice - as its electoral symbol.

The party also obtained EC registration with the 'weighing scale' as its election symbol on Nov 4, 2008.

It later lost its registration following a High Court order over its charter contradicting the Constitution of Bangladesh.  

The EC website still has the Jamaat on the list of registered political parties, with the 'weighing scale' noted as its symbol.

It is, however, mentioned in its Comments box that the Jamaat had lost its registration.

Seven senior Jamaat leaders have been sentenced for crimes against humanity, such as genocide, murder, rape, torture and looting, during the Liberation War. Five of them have been hanged.

Pro-Liberation War organisations have been demanding a ban on the Jamaat for its role in 1971.

The government has taken steps to try the Jamaat as a party responsible for war crimes, but the move has been stuck in a legal quagmire in the absence of a law that enables trials of political parties for war crimes.