GM Quader can’t perform duties as JaPa chair: Appellate Division

The Appellate Division on Wednesday barred GM Quader from performing his duties as the Jatiya Party (JaPa) chairman until the case challenging his appointment's legality is disposed of in the trial court.

A six-judge bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after hearing an appeal challenging the High Court order that allowed GM Quader to perform his duties as the JaPa chairman.

Former JaPa lawmaker Ziaul Haque Mridha filed the appeal.

The apex court also ordered the lower court concerned to dispose of the ongoing case by 9 January.

At the same time, the Appellate Division stayed a High Court order, which had cleared the way for GM Quader to remain the JaPa chairman by staying a lower court embargo till 3 January following a revision of the petition.

JaPa Co-Chairman Kazi Firoz Rashid, a member of parliament, told The Business Standard, "We will run the party respecting the order given by the Appellate Division. The court ordered that GM Quader cannot serve as the chairman. It did not issue any order to remove him from the post."

Kazi Firoz said, "Even if he cannot perform his duties as chairman, the party will run according to his instructions. He has a workforce of thousands in the field. There will be no problem in managing the party."

Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary, a member of the party's standing committee, told TBS, "This is the first time that I have heard of a court order banning a chairperson of a political party from performing their duties."

Initiatives will be taken for speedy disposal of the ongoing case in the judicial court. And until the case is settled, the party will be run under Quader's direct and indirect guidance, added the politician.

JaPa suspended its leader, and former MP Ziaul Haque Mridha filed a case against GM Quader on 4 October in Dhaka Court.

On 30 October, Dhaka Joint District Sessions Judge Court-1 issued a temporary embargo on the political activities of GM Quader.

On 6 October, several lawyers, including Sheikh Sirajul Islam and Kalim Ullah Majumdar, stood for GM Quader with a petition to withdraw the ban on his political activities at the court.

In the petition, the lawyers also urged the court to lift the embargo to allow Quader to play his role as chairman as per the party's constitution. The court dismissed the petition on 16 November.

Later, Quader filed a revision petition with the HC challenging the lower court order.

According to the case statement, the party's founder HM Ershad died on 14 September 2019.

The statement added that Quader declared himself as chairman of the party through forgery at a council on 28 December 2019 when a writ petition case was pending at the HC.

Later, Quader, as party chairman, fired several leaders, including Ranga, Gazipur metropolitan unit's advisor Ataur Rahman Sarkar and organising secretary Sabur Sikdar, among others, by exercising his power as per the constitution of the party.

Besides, Ranga was also removed from the presidium member post of the party on 14 September. Advocate Ziaul Hoque Mridha was removed from the party on 17 September.

In the case, orders were sought to declare all removals from 28 December 2019 to 17 September 2022 as illegal.