HC declares illegal cancellation of Aug 15 as nat’l mourning day

The High Court on Sunday ruled that August 15 should be restored as National Mourning Day and a public holiday.

The High Court bench of Justice MA Rashid and Justice M Ashfaqul Islam declared illegal the cancellation of National Mourning Day, which was also a public holiday, on August 15 by the BNP-Jamaat alliance government.

The court also declared illegal the changes made by the alliance government to the Flag Rules of 1972, cancelling the hoisting of the national flag at half-mast to pay respect to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the day.

The High Court delivered the judgement on a public interest litigation writ petition filed on August 5, 2007 by Supreme Court lawyer Mozammel Haque, Mollah Abu Kaiser and MA Malek.

Assistant attorney general Syed Zafar Iman told reporters the government would prefer an appeal against the High Court judgement with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Sheikh Mujib, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by a group of army personnel on August 15, 1975. All but two of his family members were killed in the incident.

After coming to power 21 years after, the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina on August 8, 1996 declared August 15 as National Mourning Day and public holiday to pay respect to Sheikh Mujib.

August 15 had since then been observed at the state level and the national flag had been hoisted at half-mast both at home and at Bangladesh missions abroad.

The BNP-Jamaat alliance government on August 3, 2002 cancelled the decision of the Awami League government.

The three Supreme Court lawyers, also members of Bangabandhu Ainjibi Parishad, a platform of pro-Awami League lawyers, filed the writ petition in 2007 challenging the legality of the cancellation of National Mourning Day and pubic holiday on August 15.

After a preliminary hearing in the petition, the High Court on August 6, 2007 issued a rule on the government to explain why the cancellation of National Mourning Day and pubic holiday on August 15 would not be declared illegal.

The government was also asked to explain why August 15 would not be observed as National Mourning Day and a public holiday.

In the judgement, the High Court observed the BNP-led alliance government’s decision cancelling mourning day was a denial of a state decision.

The bench also observed the grounds on which the BNP-led government had cancelled National Mourning Day and public holiday on August 15 was not factually correct.

Cancelling the August 15 as National Mourning Day,

the BNP-led government claimed the day had earlier been neither fixed nor observed as national mourning day. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s vice-chairman MK Anwar, who was also in the alliance government’s cabinet which cancelled the day, welcomed the High Court judgement.

The acting Awami League president, Zillur Rahman, taking with media in his house at Gulshan, hailed the judgement and urged its implementation.