1975 Bangla military takeover illegal: Court

In a landmark judgement, the Bangladesh High Court on Monday declared the 1975 military takeover that killed the country’s independence...

In a landmark judgement, the Bangladesh High Court on Monday declared the 1975 military takeover that killed the country’s independence architect and the first President, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, ‘‘illegal’’ and ‘‘void’’.

Judges A B M Khairul Huq and A T M Fazle Kabir made the observations in a dispute challenging the validity of a martial regulation, incorporated in the country’s fifth constitutional amendment, ratifying all martial law actions taken between August 15, 1975 and 1979.

Terming Khondoker Moshtaque Ahmed’s takeover and assumption of the office of President ‘‘illegal, without lawful authority and without jurisdiction’’, the judges said, ‘‘All his subsequent actions as the President of Bangladesh were illegitimate and void.’’

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The judges also referred to Gen Zia’s presidential takeover on April 21, 1971, and observed it was also ‘‘beyond the ambit of the Constitution, and as such illegal’’.

Meanwhile, authorities in Dhaka said on Monday that they had arrested Mohammad Nasir, a leader of the Jamayet ul-Mujahideen—the banned Islamic group, blamed for a nationwide wave of blasts earlier this month.

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