In a surprising turn of events, petitioners who filed a writ seeking a court-imposed ban on the political activities of the recently ousted Awami League and 10 other parties withdrew their petition less than 24 hours after filing it.
On Wednesday, Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, along with Sarjis Alam, general secretary of the July Shaheed Smriti Foundation, and Hasibul Islam, filed the writ to ban the political activities of Awami League, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSAD), Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Tariqat Federation, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Party (Manju), Ganatantri Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) (Barua), and Socialist Party of Bangladesh.
The petition also called for directives to the Law Secretary, Home Secretary, Election Commission, and Inspector General of Police to enforce the proposed restrictions. The writ cited “indiscriminate killing of people, undermining democratic institutions, and unconstitutional seizure of state power” as reasons for imposing a ban on the political activities of these 11 parties and also sought a ruling to bar these parties from participating in future elections.
Hasnat and Sarjis later shared details about the writs on their verified Facebook pages, highlighting two main points: 1. The first writ questioned the legality of the last three elections conducted under the Awami League, demanding the return of unlawfully obtained benefits. 2. The second writ sought to restrict these parties from political activities until the final judgment of the case.
The petition did not request party dissolution or deregistration.
Previously, the interim government officially banned the Awami League’s affiliate, Bangladesh Chhatra League, formalized through a gazette notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Political Wing-2 on October 23.
Additionally, the petitioners filed a separate writ challenging the legitimacy of the 10th, 11th, and 12th national elections and sought the cancellation of privileges granted to MPs from these elections.
Earlier, on October 19, Mahfuj Alam, special assistant to the chief adviser, announced that the interim government would impose restrictions on 14 parties, including the Awami League, which participated in the past three general elections. He emphasised that these parties "cheated the people" and would face barriers to future election participation. "Legal and administrative measures are being put in place," he noted, adding that those who supported "fascist rule" would face consequences.