Severely criticising Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain for issuing the stay order minutes before a High Court bench was to deliver its order regarding the writ petitions, the organisations said it is not only an unprecedented step, but also one of the most disappointing events in the history of the judicial system.

In a statement, Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon and General Secretary Bimal Biswas said this incident has proved that the BNP-Jamaat alliance is out to destroy all the constitutional institutions in a bid to regain state power.

With such an incident, violation of the rule of law reached its highest level, they said, adding that the four-party alliance had earlier politicised the caretaker government and now it has destroyed the judiciary.

The Workers Party also took out a protest procession in the city.

"This incident has dealt a blow to the conscience of the nation, which is totally unexpected and regrettable," said Jukto Front leaders ASM Abdur Rob and Kader Siddiqui Bir Uttam in another statement.

"We are surprised at the unprecedented intervention by the chief justice," said a statement of Dhaka University Teachers' Association (Duta), signed by its President Prof Sharif Ullah Bhuiyan and General Secretary Dr Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman.

The attorney general appeared to be politically biased, they said, adding that the last hope of the nation for justice will disappear if the highest court gets involved with the partisan viewpoint instead of upholding and preserving the constitution.

"This has deepened the ongoing political crisis," the Duta statement said, urging the justices to maintain an environment where people can get justice.