Writ filed challenging legality of Bar Council ad hoc committee
A writ petition was filed with the High Court challenging
the legality of the newly formed ad hoc committee appointed to run the
Bangladesh Bar Council and seeking an order for elections to the lawyers'
regulatory body within 30 days.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Yunus
Ali Akand filed the writ today (1 July) naming the law secretary and other
relevant authorities as respondents.
The writ also seeks suspension of
the ad hoc committee until an elected Bar Council takes office.
According to the petition, the committee has been formed with lawyers
affiliated with the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. The petitioner has challenged the
legality of the body on that basis.
The move comes a day after the
government constituted a 15-member ad hoc committee to oversee the Bangladesh
Bar Council.
According to a gazette notification
issued yesterday by the Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law,
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the committee has been formed under Article
4(2) of the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Order, 1972.
Under the notification, Attorney
General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal will serve as chairman of the ad hoc Bar Council
by virtue of office.
The committee includes lawyers
known to be affiliated with the BNP, as well as two lawyers associated with
Jamaat-e-Islami and one lawyer linked to the National Citizen Party (NCP),
according to the notification.
The gazette states that the ad hoc
committee will remain in office for one year, from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
