Writ of Certiorari in Bangladesh: Grounds, Cases and Strategy in 2026

Writ of certiorari in Bangladesh: how the remedy works in 2026

A writ of certiorari in Bangladesh is the remedy that undoes an unlawful public decision. When a ministry cancels a licence without a hearing, a tax officer issues a demand the statute does not support, a land office lists private property as vested, or a tribunal decides a case it had no power to hear, the High Court Division can declare that act or proceeding to have been done without lawful authority and of no legal effect. The power comes directly from Article 102(2)(a)(ii) of the Constitution, and it is the relief sought in more writ petitions than any other.[1]

This guide explains how the remedy works in 2026: the constitutional text, who can apply and against whom, the grounds the court accepts, the alternative remedy rule that ends many petitions at the first hearing, recent judgments on licences, tax and land, and the practical steps that give a petition the best chance of success.

Summary: Certiorari in Bangladesh is a declaration under Article 102(2)(a)(ii) that an act done or proceeding taken by a person performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic or a local authority was done without lawful authority and is of no legal effect. It is available to a person aggrieved, only where no other equally efficacious remedy exists, and on grounds that include lack or excess of jurisdiction, breach of natural justice, mala fides and error of law on the face of the record.

Key point: The High Court Division is enforcing the alternative remedy rule more firmly. In February 2025 it rejected a challenge to a Tk 168.77 crore VAT demand at the threshold because the statutory appeal under section 122 of the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 was an equally efficacious remedy, warning that pleas of mala fides and lack of jurisdiction are now routinely made to bypass appellate forums.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh does

The Constitution of Bangladesh does not use the Latin names of the writs. Article 102(2)(a)(ii) instead empowers the High Court Division, on the application of any person aggrieved, to make an order declaring that any act done or proceeding taken by a person performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic or of a local authority "has been done or taken without lawful authority and is of no legal effect".[1] Lawyers and judges have long described this order as the writ of certiorari, distinguishing it from the mandamus and prohibition limbs in Article 102(2)(a)(i) and from habeas corpus and quo warranto in Article 102(2)(b).[2]

The effect is corrective. The court does not substitute its own decision on the merits; it declares that the decision under challenge has no legal force. The declaration is usually paired with consequential directions, such as reinstating a licence or releasing land, so that it produces a practical result.

Certiorari distinguished from an appeal

An appeal asks whether the decision was right. Certiorari asks whether it was lawful. The court examines power, procedure, materials and reasons, rather than reweighing evidence. A petition that reads like a disagreement on facts will usually fail, while one that identifies a defect in power or process stands a real chance.

Where it sits in the wider writ jurisdiction

Article 102(1) separately allows the High Court Division to give directions to enforce the fundamental rights in Part III, and Article 44 guarantees the right to move the court for that purpose.[1] Many certiorari petitions plead both routes, relying on Article 31's guarantee that no action detrimental to a person's life, liberty, body, reputation or property shall be taken except in accordance with law. Our overview of the writ petition in Bangladesh explains how the five writs fit together.

Who can apply, and against whom

The person aggrieved

A writ of certiorari in Bangladesh is available only "on the application of any person aggrieved".[1] In ordinary commercial and administrative cases the petitioner is the person whose licence, assessment, property or status the decision directly affects. Heirs can qualify where the decision affects an entitlement they inherit: in December 2025 the High Court Division quashed a gazette cancelling a deceased freedom fighter's status on a petition brought by his heirs, and directed the honorarium to continue to them.[5] Public-spirited applicants have a wider standing in public interest cases, but a business challenging its own adverse decision should frame its interest concretely.

Persons performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic

The respondent must be a person performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic or of a local authority. Article 102(5) adds that "person" includes a statutory public authority and any court or tribunal, other than a court or tribunal established under a law relating to the defence services or a disciplined force, or an administrative tribunal to which Article 117 applies.[1] Ministries, the National Board of Revenue, deputy commissioners, paurashavas, regulators and statutory boards all fall within reach.

Courts and tribunals as respondents

Because courts and tribunals are included, certiorari is regularly used against decrees and orders of special tribunals, certificate officers and Artha Rin courts where there is a jurisdictional defect or no adequate appeal. In Md Shahin Ikbal v General Certificate Officer, the High Court Division quashed a public demands certificate proceeding against a small borrower, holding that the certificate officer had started the case without objective satisfaction and on an improperly filed requisition.[3] Matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of an Article 117 administrative tribunal, such as most service disputes of government employees, go to that tribunal instead.

Grounds for a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh

The court's own summary of the grounds is a useful starting point. In Shahin Ikbal, reported at 17 SCOB [2023] HCD 168, the High Court Division said that certiorari "controls all courts, tribunals, and other authorities when they purport to act without jurisdiction, or in excess of it", and that it is also available for violation of the principles of natural justice or where there is an error of law apparent on the face of the record.[3] Recent judgments add mala fides, arbitrariness and failure to consider relevant factors.

Lack or excess of jurisdiction

The cleanest ground is that the decision-maker had no power at all, or exceeded the power it had. That includes acting under a repealed provision, acting outside the territorial or subject-matter limits of a statute, and an officer exercising a power that belongs to someone else. In August 2023 the High Court Division declared illegal a paurashava's cancellation of a private bazar licence and forfeiture of the licensee's money, finding the action taken through a person "posing himself as Mayor" and declaring it "without jurisdiction and is of no legal effect".[7]

Breach of natural justice

The rule that no one should be condemned unheard is the most frequently successful ground. The court regularly quashes decisions that take away an existing benefit without a show cause notice or a real opportunity to respond. In Mst Rijiya Begum v Bangladesh, decided on 8 December 2025, the court found that a cancellation notification had been issued "without any show cause notice upon the petitioner to be heard", which "violates the principles of natural justice".[5] In the paurashava licence case, notices that were never actually served and a three-day deadline that was not allowed to expire were treated as no hearing at all.[7]

Mala fides, arbitrariness and irrelevant considerations

A decision taken for an improper purpose, without reasons, or by ignoring the factors the law requires is liable to be quashed. In Rijiya Begum the court held the notification was "not based on relevant factors" and was therefore "arbitrary, malafide, and potentially discriminatory", making it subject to being declared without lawful authority.[5] Allegations of bad faith must be particularised and supported by the record; a bare assertion of mala fides persuades no one.

Error of law on the face of the record

Where the decision itself discloses a plain misreading of the governing law, certiorari can correct it without any need to examine disputed facts. The error must be self-evident from the order and the documents, not one that emerges only after a long argument on competing interpretations.

The alternative remedy rule

Article 102(2) opens with a condition: the High Court Division may act only "if satisfied that no other equally efficacious remedy is provided by law".[1] This is the single most important threshold for a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh, and it disposes of more petitions than any argument on the merits.

The 2025 VAT demand case

On 26 February 2025, in British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited v Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, the High Court Division rejected a challenge to a VAT and duty demand of Tk 168,77,46,697. The Attorney General relied on Appellate Division authority that where there is a statutory appellate forum, the aggrieved person must exhaust it first, citing NBR v Basic Dredging Company Ltd, 29 BLC (AD) 141, and Commissioner of Customs, Excise and VAT v Syed Nurul Arefeen, 29 BLC (AD) 136.[4]

The bench accepted that the Appellate Division had recognised exceptions, but held that they "must be resorted not only cautiously and sensibly, but also responsibly", observing that pleas of mala fides, arbitrariness and lack of jurisdiction had become routine. Finding that the 19-page demand order addressed the facts and law, followed a personal hearing and itself pointed to the right of appeal, the court held the appeal under section 122 of the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 to be an equally efficacious remedy.[4] For VAT and customs disputes, the practical lesson is to file the statutory appeal in time unless the case falls squarely within a recognised exception. Our guide to VAT in Bangladesh covers the appellate route.

When the court entertains a petition despite an appeal

The exceptions remain real. The court will intervene where the decision is wholly without jurisdiction, where natural justice was plainly denied, where the act is mala fide on the record, or where the alternative remedy is not truly efficacious.

In Shahin Ikbal the court weighed that twelve years had already passed and that an appeal or revision under the Public Demands Recovery Act 1913 might take as long again, concluding that certiorari was the effective route.[3]

A remedy that does not yet exist cannot bar the writ either. Rules were issued against Land Survey Tribunal decrees while no Land Survey Appellate Tribunal existed under section 145B of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act; once the appellate tribunals were set up by a gazette of 11 July 2023, the court sent the petitioner to appeal within three months with any delay condoned.[10]

Exhausting the appeal and then seeking certiorari

Using the statutory appeal does not shut the door. Where the appellate authority itself decides unlawfully, its decision becomes the target. In December 2025 the High Court Division quashed an appellate order that had affirmed the refusal to renew a travel agency licence on the ground of delay, holding that the authority had failed to consider the petitioner's explanation of illness or to give him a hearing, and directed renewal within seven days on payment of the fees and any penalty.[6]

Recent examples: licences, tax and land

The following decisions show how a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh operates across the areas in which businesses and property owners most often meet the state.

Licences and permits

Licensing decisions suit the writ of certiorari in Bangladesh well, because they involve a statutory power, a defined procedure and a measurable loss. The same principles apply to trade, factory and fire licences, import registrations and sector licences. The court will ask whether the statute permitted cancellation or refusal on the ground stated, whether the licensee was heard, and whether the authority took account of the explanation offered.[6] [7] See our guide to business licences in Bangladesh.

Tax and VAT demands

Tax cases illustrate both the power and the limits of the remedy. A demand made without jurisdiction, under the wrong provision or without a hearing can be quashed, but a reasoned assessment that is open to statutory appeal will usually be sent back to that forum.[4]

Interim stays also attract scrutiny. In the Grameen Kalyan matter, writ petitions filed in 2017 against tax demands of about Tk 666 crore for assessment years 2012-13 to 2016-17 were dismissed on 10 September 2026, the bench calling it a "classic case of tax evasion by keeping a settled issue pending" and vacating the stay.[11] On 18 October 2026 the Appellate Division's chamber judge stayed the direction for swift recovery, but not the finding on the validity of the claim, pending a hearing.[12]

Land and vested property

Certiorari is a standard tool for removing land wrongly entered in the 'Ka' list of vested property under the Arpita Sampatti Prattarpan Ain 2001, and the court now applies clear conditions to such challenges.

On 25 February 2026, in Most Poly v Secretary, Ministry of Land, the High Court Division declared the listing unlawful and set out five conditions a petitioner must satisfy where land was listed after 23 March 1974: the gazette must show the post-1974 listing; the government must never have taken possession; the petitioner must prove a valid chain of title; continuous possession must be shown through records, mutation and rent receipts; and the state must not have produced evidence to the contrary.[8] A November 2025 decision released 13 decimals in Satkhira on similar reasoning, noting that the government had accepted rent from the owner.[9]

Procedure: from motion hearing to rule absolute

A petition for a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh follows the standard procedure of the High Court Division in its special original jurisdiction. The petition, supported by an affidavit, annexes the impugned decision and the key documents, identifies the respondents and sets out the grounds. At the motion hearing the bench decides whether to issue a rule nisi calling on the respondents to show cause why the act should not be declared to have been done without lawful authority and of no legal effect. The rules in the cases cited in this guide follow that formula almost word for word.[5] [8]

Interim relief

Where the impugned act is about to be implemented, the petitioner will ask for a stay or an order of status quo. Article 102(4) restricts interim orders that may prejudice a development programme or be otherwise harmful to the public interest: the court must give the Attorney-General reasonable notice and a hearing, and be satisfied that the order will not have that effect.[1] Interim orders are commonly granted for a fixed period and extended, and they may be continued for a limited time after final disposal, as in the Land Survey Tribunal case, where the stay ran until the appeal was filed or three months passed.[10]

Final hearing and outcomes

At the final hearing the rule is made absolute, discharged, or disposed of with directions. Rules can also become infructuous with the passage of time or a change in circumstances, which is why petitioners must keep the court informed of events after filing. Appeal lies to the Appellate Division under Article 103, as of right where the High Court Division certifies a substantial question of constitutional interpretation, and otherwise by leave.[1] Our constitutional and writ litigation practice handles both stages.

How to prepare a strong certiorari petition

Success in certiorari depends heavily on the record. The following sequence reflects how we prepare a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh for filing.

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Two points deserve emphasis. First, delay is dangerous: there is no fixed limitation period, but an unexplained gap between the decision and the petition invites the objection of laches. Second, a petitioner who has a statutory appeal should either file it or be ready to explain, with reference to the record, why the case falls within a recognised exception.

Certiorari compared with other remedies

Certiorari is not always the right tool. A decision that has not yet been made may call for prohibition, and a failure to act calls for mandamus. Our guides to the writ of mandamus in Bangladesh and the writ of prohibition in Bangladesh explain those routes. The table below summarises the main choices. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

In many disputes the remedies are combined: a petition may seek a declaration that a cancellation order is of no legal effect together with a direction to restore the licence, or challenge a demand while asking the court to restrain coercive recovery until the rule is heard. For the wider principles of review, see our guide to judicial review in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Arguing the merits only: the court asks whether the decision was lawful, not whether it was the best outcome. Frame the case around power, procedure and reasons.
• Ignoring the statutory appeal: after the 2025 VAT decision, a petition that bypasses an available appeal without a strong exception is likely to be rejected at the threshold.[4]
• Thin evidence of title or status: in land cases the court now expects documentary proof of title and continuous possession before it will release property.[8]
• Unparticularised mala fides: bad faith must be shown from the record, not asserted.
• Relying on an interim stay as a strategy: courts are increasingly alert to petitions kept pending to postpone payment, as the Grameen Kalyan judgment shows.[11]
• Wrong respondents: omitting the authority that actually made the decision, or the beneficiary of it, can delay or defeat the rule.

What to watch in 2026

Three trends will shape the writ of certiorari in Bangladesh over the coming year. The threshold scrutiny of alternative remedies in tax, VAT and customs matters is tightening, so taxpayers should expect to pursue the statutory appeal first.[4] Vested property and other land-listing challenges continue to be decided on documentary proof, with the High Court Division now articulating clear conditions.[8] And the Appellate Division's treatment of the Grameen Kalyan appeal, listed for 13 December 2026, may say more about how long writ stays should protect a disputed demand.[12]

If a public authority has taken a decision against you that you believe it had no power to take, or took without hearing you, the first weeks matter most. Contact TRW to assess whether certiorari, a statutory appeal or another route offers the strongest position.

Frequently asked questions

What is a writ of certiorari in Bangladesh?

It is an order of the High Court Division under Article 102(2)(a)(ii) of the Constitution declaring that an act done or proceeding taken by a person performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic or a local authority was done without lawful authority and is of no legal effect.[1]

Who can file a certiorari petition?

Any person aggrieved by the decision, usually the person whose licence, property, assessment or status it directly affects. Heirs may apply where the decision affects an entitlement they inherit.[1] [5]

Can certiorari be issued against a court or tribunal?

Yes. Article 102(5) includes courts and tribunals within "person", except defence services and disciplined force tribunals and Article 117 administrative tribunals.[1]

What are the grounds for certiorari?

Lack or excess of jurisdiction, breach of natural justice, error of law apparent on the face of the record, and mala fide, arbitrary or irrelevant-factor decision-making.[3] [5]

Do I have to appeal before filing a writ?

Usually, if the statute provides an equally efficacious appeal. The court will entertain a writ despite an appeal only in recognised exceptions, such as a decision wholly without jurisdiction or a clear denial of natural justice.[4]

Can a VAT or tax demand be quashed by certiorari?

It can where the demand is without jurisdiction or made in breach of natural justice, but a reasoned demand open to appeal under the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 will usually be left to the appellate forum.[4]

Is there a time limit for certiorari?

There is no fixed limitation period, but the remedy is discretionary and unexplained delay can defeat a petition. File as soon as the decision is received.

Can I get a stay while the petition is pending?

Yes, the court often grants a stay or status quo when issuing the rule, but Article 102(4) requires notice to the Attorney-General where the order may harm a development programme or the public interest.[1]

Can vested property listing be challenged by writ?

Yes. In February 2026 the High Court Division released land from the 'Ka' list after the petitioners proved post-1974 listing, absence of government possession, valid title and continuous possession.[8]

Can I appeal a certiorari judgment?

Yes, to the Appellate Division under Article 103, as of right on a certified constitutional question and otherwise by leave.[1]