Bangladesh’s top court suspends High Court order on ‘Joy Bangla’ slogan

The Appellate Division has suspended a High Court order declaring “Joy Bangla” the national slogan of Bangladesh.

A bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed made the decision based on a petition from the state on Tuesday.

Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state at the hearing.

Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam had said on Monday that the matter would be heard by the full bench of the Appellate Division and scheduled a hearing for Tuesday.

The petition challenging the High Court decision was filed by the state on Dec 2.

The original ruling by the High Court was made on Mar 10, 2020, officially declaring "Joy Bangla" as the country's national slogan following a writ petition filed in 2017 by Supreme Court lawyer Bashir Ahmed.

Later, on Feb 20, 2022, the cabinet led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina issued a notice recognising it as the national slogan.