Dhaka, Dec 6 (IANS) The ongoing pre-poll confrontation among political parties touched Bangladesh's top judiciary when the Supreme Court Tuesday slapped sedition charge against some of the country's top lawyers present during violence in the Chief Justice's court on November 30.

The judges demanded an apology from the lawyers and refrained from carrying out court proceedings, media reports said.

The court had witnessed angry shouting of slogans, damaging of furniture and tearing of the national flag after it stayed high court's proceedings in a clutch of petitions filed by the Awami League-led 14-party alliance.

The apex court's administration filed a sedition case with a local police station accusing 200 persons, including former law minister Kamal Hossain and noted jurists, Amir-Ul Islam, Rokanuddin Mahmud and Tania Amir.

Known for their support for the Awami League, the three are the architects of three petitions filed by the 14-party alliance challenging President Iajudin Ahmed's action in appointing himself the Chief Advisor of the caretaker government and questioning the neutrality of the Election Commission.

Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain had on November 30 stayed the proceedings of a High Court bench, minutes before it was to announce a rule on the assumption of the post of chief adviser by the president, following petitions filed by 14-party leaders, triggering a melee among the lawyers and the people present there, leading to the vandalism.

The judges in a meeting held on Monday, decided to discontinue their work in the High Court (HC) Division for two days. It also decided to bring sedition charges against the responsible persons for the ransacking and tearing off of the national flag, The Daily Star reported.

Reporting the 'unprecedented' incident, media reports had on December 1 said lawyers and "others" were involved in disruption.

The apex court's action in staying the high court proceedings, without waiting for the latter to pass its order on the petitions was also 'unprecedented,' according to The Daily Star, New Age and other newspapers.

The decision to refrain from court proceedings came from a set of meetings of the judges that took place earlier this week, held at the residence of Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain, a news release sent by Deputy Registrar of the HC Division Aminul Haque said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) urged the chief justice not to get involved with any political alliance's design and not to take any decision instructed by any party.

The SCBA lawyers told the media that they found 'similarities' between the judges' decision and four-party alliance's demand, as the alliance leaders demanded not to open the court until the responsible people are punished.