Issuing circular for quota reform before trial completion illegal: Legal experts

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has issued a one-month status quo on the High Court's verdict declaring the abolition of the freedom fighter quota system in first and second-class government jobs as illegal.

On July 10, the Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, issued this order. The order stated that there would be a further hearing on this matter after four weeks. During this period, the government circular abolishing the quota will remain in effect.

As a result of this order, lawyers have stated that the government's circular issued in 2018 abolishing the freedom fighter quota remains valid. On the other hand, after the full verdict of the High Court was published, the state party filed a leave to appeal against the verdict, seeking to retain the quota system in first and second-class government jobs. This application was made in the relevant branch of the Appellate Division last Tuesday.

Regarding the leave to appeal against the reinstatement of the quota, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told Views Bangladesh that, "According to the law, if we want to challenge the High Court's verdict, we have to file a leave to appeal. So, a leave to appeal has been filed. The court will decide after the hearing whether to grant us permission for the appeal. In our application, we have shown the reasons why the High Court's verdict is not correct. Our request to the court is that the High Court's verdict should be canceled by granting leave."

When asked why the application was made, the attorney general said, "Our main argument is that it is a matter of the government's policy decision. Therefore, there is no matter of the court's judgment in this."

A writ petition challenging the validity of the circular issued in 2018, which abolished the quota in grades 9 to 13 (first and second-class), was filed. After the final hearing, the High Court declared the circular "illegal" on June 5. The state party applied for a stay of the High Court's verdict on June 9.

Regarding the ongoing movement on the quota, Law Minister Anisul Haque told Views Bangladesh, that "The case is awaiting a hearing in the Appellate Division. The verdict will be delivered next month. In this situation, issuing any circular regarding the quota by the government would be illegal."

In response to a question, he said, "No matter how much movement happens on the streets, the government cannot do anything about the quota without a further order from the Supreme Court."

Senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, said, "The government also wants quota reform. For this, it has appealed in the Appellate Division. But until a matter pending before the court is resolved in court, the government cannot issue any executive order. It is surprising that without understanding this, students continue to protest on the streets."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the students to be patient until the highest court's verdict on the quota issue. In a speech to the nation last Wednesday evening, she said this.

Mentioning that students will get justice in court, Sheikh Hasina said, "Those involved in the killings during the violent quota reform movement will be duly punished."

She added, "Some quarters took advantage of the quota movement to engage in terrorist activities. As a result, the tragic and sorrowful deaths of innocent students have occurred."