University of Karachi. Photo: Nomi887, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audio_Visual_Centre_KU.jpg)
University of Karachi. Photo: Nomi887, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audio_Visual_Centre_KU.jpg)
Muhammad Mohsen
Rashid was born on December 29, 1951, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to M. Abdul and Kurshid Rashid. Dhaka was already the principal administrative, commercial, and legal center of what was then East Pakistan and became the capital of independent Bangladesh in 1971, the year of Rashid's first recorded law qualification.
He married Reshma Rashid on November 26, 1977. Their children are Talha Mohsen Rashid, Hisham Mohsen Rashid, and Zeeshn Bin Mohsen Rashid.
Rashid studied law at the University of Karachi, receiving a law qualification in 1971 and a Juris Doctor in 1976. The University of Karachi, established in 1951, became one of Pakistan's major public universities and an important center for professional and scholarly education in the country's largest commercial metropolis.
His education connected Bangladesh and Pakistan during a period of major constitutional and political change in South Asia. The legal training preceded his entry into private practice in Dhaka and his later work before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Rashid entered private legal practice in Dhaka in 1976, working in business law and constitutional law and advising banks and corporations. His practice developed within Bangladesh's expanding commercial economy, where lawyers increasingly handled company, securities, regulatory, and constitutional matters alongside traditional litigation.
He became an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and represented clients in High Court and Appellate Division proceedings. His documented work includes constitutional litigation concerning judicial independence, public administration, securities regulation, and the legality of governmental action. A published discussion of judicial reform described the bar's role in litigation seeking separation of the judiciary from the executive.
Rashid has also served as legal adviser to Apex Tannery Limited and has been associated with corporate organizations including Sheba Telecom, Ltd. and Aventi, Ltd. In public life, he served as a senior figure in the Jatiya Party, later joined Gono Forum, and continued to participate in constitutional and political debates through his legal practice and party activities.
In 2025, he filed and argued proceedings challenging the constitutional process used in forming Bangladesh's interim government. The litigation placed his continuing constitutional-law practice within one of the country's major legal controversies following the political upheaval of 2024.
Rashid contributed to public discussion of judicial reform and the separation of the judiciary from the executive through his legal writing and advocacy as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
He represented clients in constitutional and commercial proceedings before the High Court Division and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, including litigation involving judicial independence, securities regulation, and governmental authority.
(An essay by Rashid on the relationship between judicial i...)
Rashid's political career has included senior participation in Bangladesh's Jatiya Party and later Gono Forum. He served as a presidium member of the Jatiya Party before resigning in March 2019 and joining Gono Forum under the leadership of Dr. Kamal Hossain.
Gono Forum emerged in 1992 under Kamal Hossain as a political movement emphasizing constitutional government, democracy, rule of law, and civil liberties. Rashid subsequently served in the party's leadership and represented it in public political programs, including activities connected with the Jatiya Oikyafront. His political statements have focused on constitutional order, judicial independence, and opposition to abuses of state power.
Rashid's public legal writing emphasizes the importance of an independent judiciary, constitutional limits on executive authority, and the relationship between judicial independence and the quality of justice. His arguments distinguish formal institutional separation from the deeper requirement that judges exercise independent judgment.
His public political and legal interventions also reflect a concern with constitutional accountability, democratic government, and the protection of institutional dignity. These views are expressed through his legal commentary, constitutional litigation, and participation in political organizations.
Rashid has participated in Bangladeshi legal, regional, international, civic, humanitarian, service, and social organizations. His professional memberships include the Dhaka Bar Association, the Supreme Court Bar Association, SAARCLAW, and the Union Internationale des Avocats.
He was associated with the Association for Democratic and Constitutional Advances of Bangladesh, served as president of the Rotary Club of Shebbogh, and held leadership or organizational roles with Al-Falah and Friendship. His listed civic and business affiliations also included the Guishan Club, Sheba Telecom, Ltd., and Aventi, Ltd.
President
Association for Democratic and Constitutional Advances of Bangladesh , Bangladesh
1988
Member
Dhaka Bar Association , Bangladesh
Member and participant in constitutional-law activities
Supreme Court Bar Association , Bangladesh
Secretary General; previously Treasurer
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law , Bangladesh
Member
Union Internationale des Avocats , France
Past president
Rotary Club of Shebbogh , Bangladesh
President
Al-Falah , Bangladesh
President
Friendship , Bangladesh
Permanent member
Guishan Club , Bangladesh
Rashid is the son of M. Abdul and Kurshid Rashid. He married Reshma Rashid on November 26, 1977, and they have three children: Talha Mohsen Rashid, Hisham Mohsen Rashid, and Zeeshn Bin Mohsen Rashid.
