The stay order issued to the surprise of legal experts cleared way for the speaker and deputy speaker to move into the new buildings that many deemed as contrary to the original design of architect Louis I Kahn's 1973 masterpiece.

The stay order will remain in force until one week into court opening after a 47-day vacation starting tomorrow.

The Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain could not hear the lawyers of the opposition side, as the Bar boycotted his court to protest the appointment of 19 additional judges to the High Court on what they said were political grounds.

The advocate on record (AOR), who coordinates between the appellant and the respondent, was also absent in court, as he was elevated to a High Court judge, Barrister Tanjib ul Alam said.

An Appellate Division rule requires that only an advocate on record moves files for hearing in court, unless a lawyer is instructed by him.

"We were surprised by the order, as we were not present in court," said Tanjib, one of the lawyers who moved for the writ petition against the construction .

A High Court bench on June 21 declared illegal the under-construction residences in the Jatiya Sangsad complex and asked the government to take steps to announce the parliament building as part of national heritage.

Justices Mohammad Iman Ali and Shamim Hasnine in their order described the construction as an "arrogant attitude of this government".

The High Court order came after the Institute of Architects Bangladesh and Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, an organisation of environment activists, filed a writ petition against the tampering.

Earlier, the government made three attempts to get a stay order on the High Court order, which proved unsuccessful.

Yesterday, Additional Attorney General Fida M Kamal moved for the government and obtained the stay order without any opposition, although petitioners have filed a caveat, an official request to a court not to proceed with a case without notice to the person making the request.

Lawyers for the petitioners said yesterday's stay order was issued although the government only appealed for a date for leave petition hearing. The government obtained the stay order in an effort that the senior experts said might have misled the Appellate Division.

The construction that began in an open space on the western side of the Sangsad Bhaban on October 25, 2002 also breached the National Building Code and ignored Rajuk's official order and protest of architects and environmentalists.

The Sangsad Bhaban, a marble stone and concrete structure, is an architectural masterpiece admired around the world and the construction of the new residences there was carried out without permission from Rajuk, the regulatory authority, required under the Building Construction Act, 1952.

The High Court also said the construction was carried out in a place earmarked in the original plan of Louis Kahn as an open space and such construction is against public interest.

In May 2003, the High Court stayed the construction, but a day before the vacation on August 27, 2003 the Appellate Division stayed the HC order. Equipped with the Appellate Division's stay order, the government resumed construction and completed the buildings.