Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday declared that ‘Joy Bangla’ would be the national slogan of Bangladesh.
The High Court bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader delivered the verdict after holding hearing on a writ petition filed in this regard.
The court asked the respondents to take appropriate initiatives so that all the constitutional post holders and the government officials say ‘Joy Bangla’ after their speech in all the government programmes organized in the national days and in other relevant functions. The concerned government bodies have also been asked to take appropriate initiatives so that all the teachers and students say ‘Joy Bangla’ after their assembly classes in all the educational institutions across the country.
The respondents will have to submit a progress report to the registrar general of the Supreme Court in this regard within three months.
The secretaries to the Cabinet Division, Law Ministry and Education Ministry were made respondents to the rule issued earlier.
In the verdict the court said, “We are declaring that ‘Joy Bangla’ would be the national slogan of Bangladesh.”
“The petitioner prayed to the High Court to include ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan in the Constitution in line of Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution. But it is beyond the jurisdiction of this court. Due to some constitutional obligations, we cannot order to declare ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan. The parliament can incorporate it in the Constitution. Because the Parliament is the only authority to make any law and amend the Constitution, not the court,” the court said.
Advocate Bashir Ahmed, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition with the High Court in 2017 seeking its order to declare ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan.
Following the writ petition, the High Court issued a rule upon the respondents on December 4, 2017. After final hearing on the rule, the court delivered the judgement on Tuesday.
Advocate Bashir Ahmed himself appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petition while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar stood for the state.
During the hearing, the court also heard Senior Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Barrister Shafiq Ahmed, Advocate Abdul Matin Khasru and Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Amin Uddin.
After the verdict, Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar said, “Concerned ministries and authorities have been asked to issue a gazette notification in this regard.”
