Dhaka, March 18 -- The High Court has put on hold a public notice issued by the Election Commission (EC) relating to the registration of new political parties ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections.

On Tuesday, the bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja issued a rule asking why the notice should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional in response to a writ petition challenging its validity, reports bdnews24.com.

The EC, the chief election commissioner and the commission secretary have been given four weeks to respond to the rule.

The petition was filed on Monday by Hasanat Quaium, a Supreme Court lawyer and head of Rashtra Sanskar Andolan, or State Reform Movement.

Speaking to reporters a...