DHAKA, Jan 5: The Bangladesh High Court stayed the Election Commission from holding elections to 45 reserved seats for women in Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) till February 23.

A division bench of the Bangladesh High Court comprising Justice MA Matin and Justice Abdur Rahman also ruled that it would hear all the three writ petitions challenging the constitutional provision for the reserved seats and the law on election related to them.

The court issued the order after hearing a petition filed by a group of womens rights organisations seeking restriction on the process of election to the reserved seats.

Moving the petition, Dr M Zahir submitted that the commission had almost completed the process to hold the elections to the reserved seats. Opposing the admissibility of the petition, the additional attorney general, Fida M Kamal, contended that there was no scope for halting or restraining the election process in a democratic system.

Earlier on December 14, 2004, the same bench issued a rule nisi on the government, the Speaker and the Commission to show cause as to why the Jatiya Sangsad (Reserved Seats for Women) Election Act 2004 would not be declared unconstitutional.

The rule and Tuesdays order were issued upon a writ petition filed by Sigma Huda of the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights, Naila Z Khan of Sammilita Nari Samaj, Tasneem Siddiqui of Odhikar, Farida Akhter of Ubinig, and nine other leaders of different womens and human rights organisations.