Test whether a writ is the right remedy

Not every grievance against the state belongs in a writ. The lawyer checks four threshold points. Is the respondent a person performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic or a local authority, or a statutory public body? Is the client a person aggrieved? Is there another equally efficacious remedy, such as a statutory appeal, which would normally have to be used first? And has there been unexplained delay? Service matters of public servants generally go to the Administrative Tribunal instead.

Getting this right at the start is the most important part of the writ petition process in Bangladesh.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-7 days · Law: Article 102(1), (2) and (5) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 117 Constitution (Administrative Tribunals); Dr Mohiuddin Farooque v Bangladesh, 17 BLD (AD) 1 (standing) · Documents: Impugned order, notice or letter, Timeline of events

Tip: There is no fixed limitation period, but the court refuses relief to 'the tardy and the indolent'. Move within weeks of the impugned act.

Demand justice from the authority

Where the complaint is inaction, such as a licence, refund or representation left undecided, a writ of mandamus usually requires the petitioner to show that the duty was demanded and refused or ignored. The lawyer therefore sends a written representation or notice demanding justice, setting out the legal duty and a reasonable deadline, and keeps proof of delivery. Where an order has already been made, this step is often skipped, but any statutory appeal or review available should be considered first.

Where: Public authority (ministry, regulator, local body) · Time: 1-4 weeks · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(i) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Notice demanding justice, Proof of delivery, Any reply or acknowledgment

Tip: Address the notice to the officer with the statutory power, not just the ministry. That officer must be named as a respondent later.

Collect certified copies and annexures

The High Court Division decides writs on affidavit evidence, so every material fact must be supported by a document annexed to the petition. The lawyer gathers the impugned order, the statute or rule relied on, correspondence, gazette notifications and any earlier court orders, and obtains certified or attested copies. Writ jurisdiction is a poor fit for disputed questions of fact, such as title to land, so the documents must show the illegality on their face.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-2 weeks · Law: Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Impugned order, Relevant statute, rules and gazette notifications, Correspondence with the authority, Company documents and board resolution (for a company petitioner)

Tip: A company petitioner should pass a board resolution authorising the deponent, and annex it.

Draft the writ petition

The petition sets out the parties, the facts in numbered paragraphs, the impugned act, the grounds (lack of jurisdiction, mala fides, violation of natural justice, no evidence, error on the face of the record, breach of fundamental rights) and the precise relief: the form of Rule Nisi sought and any interim order. Respondents usually include the Secretary of the responsible ministry or division on behalf of the Government, and each official whose act is challenged. The petition explains why any alternative remedy is not equally efficacious.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 3-10 days · Law: Article 102(1) and (2) Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 (relief to be specifically stated); Mosarrof Hosen v Artha Rin Adalat No. 1, 19 SCOB [2024] HCD 126 (exceptions to the alternative remedy rule) · Documents: Draft petition, Index of annexures, Draft interim relief prayer

Tip: Plead the exact words of the Rule you want. Benches often issue the Rule in the terms the petitioner proposes.

Swear the affidavit at the Supreme Court

The petition must be verified by an affidavit sworn by the petitioner or an authorised representative before a Commissioner of Affidavits at the Supreme Court. The deponent identifies which statements are true to personal knowledge, which are from records and which are legal submissions. The lawyer then files the petition with the annexures, the affidavit, the court fee and copies at the writ filing section, where it is checked, numbered and made ready for listing before a bench.

Where: Supreme Court affidavit and filing sections · Time: 1-3 days · Law: Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Sworn affidavit, Petition and annexures, Court fee, Vakalatnama, Copies for service

Tip: The deponent must attend in person with a national ID card. A false statement in the affidavit can lead to contempt or prosecution.

Serve the Attorney General's office and list the matter

Before the motion, a copy of the petition is served on the Attorney General's office so that a Deputy or Assistant Attorney General can appear for the Government. The matter is then mentioned or listed before the Division Bench that the Chief Justice has assigned to hear that class of writ, such as tax, land, service-related or general matters. Where the petitioner wants an interim order that could affect a development project or the public interest, Article 102(4) requires reasonable notice to the Attorney General.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-14 days · Law: Article 102(4) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh (Chief Justice determines benches) · Documents: Service copy and receipt from the Attorney General's office, Cause list entry

Tip: Check the current bench list before filing. Moving the wrong bench wastes days, and urgent matters are lost on such delays.

Motion hearing

At the motion hearing the petitioner's advocate explains, usually in a few minutes, why there is an arguable case of illegality and why the court should intervene. The Government's law officer may oppose. The bench decides only whether the petition deserves a full hearing. It may summarily reject it, for example where an alternative remedy exists, or issue a Rule Nisi. In urgent cases, such as imminent demolition or detention, the motion can be heard the same or the next day.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1 day hearing, after 1-21 days in the list · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Petition and affidavit, Short brief of key annexures

Tip: Lead with the single strongest point of illegality. Motion benches hear many matters and decide quickly.

Rule Nisi issued

If persuaded, the bench issues a Rule Nisi calling on the respondents to show cause, usually within four weeks, why the impugned act should not be declared to have been done without lawful authority and to be of no legal effect, or why they should not be directed to perform a duty. The Rule frames the dispute for the rest of the writ petition process in Bangladesh: the final hearing is confined to the questions in it. The order records the Rule's terms and any interim direction.

Where: High Court Division · Time: Same day as the motion · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(i) and (ii) Constitution of Bangladesh; Bangladesh v Sk. Md. Abdullah Faruque, 18 SCOB AD 54 (relief confined to the terms of the Rule) · Documents: Order issuing Rule Nisi

Tip: Obtain the signed order quickly. Authorities will not act on an oral report of a stay.

Interim stay or direction

Often the most valuable result of the motion is the interim order: a stay of the impugned order, a direction to maintain status quo, or a direction to release goods or allow a candidate to sit an exam pending the hearing. Stays are usually granted for a fixed period, such as three or six months, and must be extended on application before they lapse. Under Article 102(4), the court cannot grant an interim order that would harm a development programme or the public interest without hearing the Attorney General.

No interim order can be passed in relation to a law protected by Article 47.

Where: High Court Division · Time: Same day; extensions every 3-6 months · Law: Article 102(3) and (4) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Interim relief application, Order with stay period

Tip: Diarise the expiry of the stay. A lapsed stay lets the authority act, and an extension after expiry is harder to obtain.

Rule and stay served on the respondents

The office of the High Court Division issues notice of the Rule to each respondent, and the petitioner files the requisites and postal costs promptly. In practice the petitioner's lawyer also sends a certified copy of the order directly to the respondents, so that the stay is known and obeyed at once. Service must be proved by an affidavit of service or the office report before the Rule can be heard. A Rule left unserved can be discharged for non-prosecution.

Where: Public authority (ministry, regulator, local body) · Time: 2-8 weeks · Law: Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973; Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Notice of the Rule, Requisites and postal costs, Certified copy of the order, Affidavit of service

Tip: Hand-deliver the certified order to the officer who must act and take a receiving stamp. That receipt is the foundation of any later contempt petition.

Affidavit-in-opposition and reply

The respondents answer the Rule by an affidavit-in-opposition, setting out their facts, documents and legal justification for the impugned act. The petitioner may file an affidavit-in-reply, and either side may file supplementary affidavits with leave to bring later events or documents on record. Added respondents, such as a third party who benefits from the impugned order, may also file. The respondents may apply to vacate the stay at this stage.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-6 months · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Affidavit-in-opposition, Affidavit-in-reply, Supplementary affidavits, Application to vacate stay (if any)

Tip: Answer every factual assertion in the opposition. Unchallenged statements on affidavit are usually accepted as true.

Rule appears in the hearing list

Once pleadings are complete, the Rule waits to appear in the daily cause list of the bench with jurisdiction. Writ benches change periodically when the Chief Justice reconstitutes them, so a Rule may have to be relisted before a new bench. A party may apply for early hearing if the stay is causing serious harm or the matter is time-sensitive. Habeas corpus and urgent public matters are heard within weeks; ordinary Rules can wait years.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 6 months-5 years · Law: Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Application for early hearing (if needed), Paper book or compiled annexures

Tip: Keep the stay alive throughout. Many petitioners lose a commercially decisive stay by missing an extension date while waiting for the hearing.

Final hearing: Rule made absolute or discharged

At the final hearing both sides argue on the affidavits and annexures. The bench then delivers judgment: it makes the Rule absolute, declaring the act unlawful and of no legal effect or directing the authority to act, sometimes with directions on how to reconsider the matter; or it discharges the Rule, at which point any interim order is vacated. A Rule may also be discharged as infructuous if events overtake it. Costs are usually not awarded.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-3 hearing days; judgment the same day or within weeks · Law: Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 111 Constitution of Bangladesh (binding effect) · Documents: Written submissions and case law, Judgment

Tip: Apply for a certified copy immediately. Time for going to the Appellate Division runs from the judgment date.

Compliance by the authority

The successful petitioner serves a certified copy of the judgment on the respondents and asks them to comply. Article 112 requires all executive and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court, so a ministry or regulator must give effect to the judgment unless the Appellate Division stays it. Where the court directed reconsideration, the authority must decide afresh within any time set. This final stage of the writ petition process in Bangladesh often needs follow-up letters and, if ignored, a contempt petition.

Where: Public authority (ministry, regulator, local body) · Time: 1-6 months · Law: Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 108 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Certified copy of the judgment, Covering letter demanding compliance, Proof of delivery

Tip: Write to the authority within days of the judgment, with a clear deadline, and keep the receipt.