The High Court yesterday fixed February 18 for passing an order on a writ petition that challenged the legality of oath taking by lawmakers elected in the December 30 general election.

The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil set the date after hearing the petition filed by Advocate Taherul Islam Tawhid on January 17.

AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon argued that oath taking by the lawmakers on January 3 was unconstitutional as the tenure of the 10th parliament expired on January 28.

“Therefore, there were two parliaments from January 3 to January 28 -- which is unconstitutional,” he added.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam argued that as new MPs took charge on January 30, oath taking was not illegal.