Shawdesh Desk:

The High Court on Tuesday dismissed two writ petitions filed by prominent coordinators of the Students Movement Against Discrimination, who sought to ban the political activities of Awami League and its 10 allies parties, citing alleged election manipulation, constitutional breaches, and violence.

The petitioners, Sarjis Alam, Hasibul Islam, and Md Abul Hasnat (also known as Hasnat Abdullah), also called for nullifying the results of the last three national elections and recovering benefits granted to those elected.

The bench, comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi, passed the order following a request for non-prosecution submitted by senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim, acting on instructions from his clients to withdraw the petitions.

The writ petitions were filed 12 weeks after the AL government stepped down amid a student-led uprising on August 5.

The petitions named the AL’s allies as Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Tarikat Federation, Liberal Democratic Party, Jatiya Party (Manju), Ganatantri Dal, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Marxist-Leninist (Barua), and the Socialist Party of Bangladesh.

The petitioners had accused these parties of undermining democratic institutions and getting engaged in undemocratic practices to remain in power.