Ajmalul Hossain QC, an impartial adviser to the High Court, yesterday said the judiciary did not have the authority to deal with the issue of lawmakers having been elected unopposed in the tenth parliamentary elections, observing that the issue was a political one.
The court, however, had the jurisdiction to declare a provision illegal, he said.
Ajmalul said the provision of declaring a candidate elected as uncontested in the Representation of the People Order (RPO) was legal as no parliament, formed in the past by different parties, has changed it since its incorporation back in 1972.
Many countries, like the United Kingdom and New Zealand where democracy is practiced, had such a provision but that had not ever been challenged, he added.
The amicus curiae said: “Dealing with cases like this will inevitably drag the court into political controversy and there will be an impression that judges are supporting one party or the other. It will affect the entire judiciary.”
“To perform the mandate of the people in order to dispense justice without fear or favour, the judiciary must always be above controversy, political controversy in particular,” he advised.
Following a writ petition lodged on December 17 by Jatiya Party Vice-Chairman Khandker Abdus Salam, the bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar sought explanation for whether the RPO provision was constitutional or not.
Commenting on the no-vote provision, Ajmalul said the court had no jurisdiction to direct the parliament to bring it back. If the legislature thinks it is necessary, they could bring the provision back, he said.
Senior lawyer Moudud Ahmed, also a BNP standing committee member, last week told the bench that he could not put forward his opinion on the constitutionality of the provision for “personal reasons”. The court then deleted his name from the list of amici curiae.
“I cannot disclose my personal reasons,” Moudud told the Dhaka Tribune.
Earlier, Gono Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain and Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder set forth their opinions on the RPO provision. Other three amici curiae M Amir-Ul Islam, Mahmudul Islam and Rokanuddin Mahmud are yet to place their views.
A total of 154 lawmakers were elected uncontested in the January 5 polls this year.
