The High Court will hold hearing today (Monday) on a writ petition filed seeking its order upon the government to declare the current interim government led by Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus as a ‘revolutionary government’.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury on Sunday set Monday (today) for hearing the petition.
Mofazzal Hossan, a freedom fighter and a resident from Narayanpara of Raninagar in Naogaon, filed the writ petition last week. Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir submitted the writ petition on behalf of the petitioner on October 23.
The petitioner filed the writ petition after sending a legal notice to the respondents on October 20, requesting the declaration of the interim government as a revolutionary government.
The respondents named in the petition include cabinet secretary,principal secretary to the chief adviser, law secretary, and personal secretary to the law adviser.
In the writ petition, Mofazzal Hossan said that according to the Constitution, national elections must be held within 90 days in case of dissolution of the Parliament.
The Parliament has already been dissolved. Articles 57 and 58 of the Constitution specified the term of office of the prime minister and other ministers and they must hold office until the next successor takes office in accordance with these two articles, he said in the writ petition.
The petitioner said that if the election is not held within 90 days, Article 123 (3) (b) of the constitution will be violated. And for this violation, according to Article 7 (a) of the current constitution, there is a provision of maximum punishment for the crime of treason and other crimes in the existing law.
Against this backdrop, the current government needs to be declared as a ‘revolutionary government’ in order to avert the violation of the constitution, the petitioner said.
He prayed to the High Court to direct the government to issue a gazette notification declaring the current interim government as a ‘revolutionary government’ through consensus of the outset of the glorious revolution of August 5.
Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir said that the current interim government is not only formed outside of the constitution but also outside of the judgement of the Appellate Division on 13th Amendment. Therefore, if there is no such declaration, the court may pronounce the current government unconstitutional and substitute it by a military coup, he added.
The lawyer added that a revolutionary government cannot be ousted by military coup or by judgement passed by any court.
In recent times, popular uprisings in many countries including Romania, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Libya have been recognised as revolutionary governments.
