A supplementary petition was filed with the High Court (HC) yesterday challenging the legality of the six-member search committee formed by the president to reconstitute the Election Commission (EC). Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Eunus Ali Akond filed the petition. He said he had filed a petition on January 11 seeking formulation of laws for constituting the Election Commission. “The petition has been included in the cause-list of the High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hassan for hearing.
Now I filed a supplementary petition on Saturday over the matter,” Akond said. He said the constitution's Article 118 stipulates a law for forming the EC but such a law was yet to be formulated.
“A petition is pending with the court seeking its directives to formulate the law to constitute the EC. When such a writ is pending with the court, formation of a search committee for the EC reconstitution is illegal,” he
stated.
The supplementary petition sought the HC to issue a rule upon the government to explain why the formation of the search committee should not be declared illegal. The EC, cabinet secretary and the law secretary have been made respondents in the petition.
The president formed the six-member search body headed by Appellate Division Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on January 25 after holding series of talks with 31 registered political parties including the BNP and ruling Awami League.