Caretaker govt: Hearing on 4 review petitions on 8 May

The Appellate Division has scheduled 8 May for the hearing of four petitions filed by political parties and six individuals seeking review of the verdict that abolished the non-partisan caretaker government system.

A three-member Appellate Division bench, led by Senior Justice M Ashfaqul Islam, issued the order today (2 March) following a time petition filed by the state.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state in court, while Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for the petitioners.

The caretaker government system was introduced in 1996. In 1998, three lawyers, including Advocate M Salim Ullah, filed a writ in the High Court challenging its validity. 

The High Court dismissed the writ on 4 August 2004, upholding the system's constitutionality.  

Following this, the writ petitioners appealed in 2005. The full seven-member Appellate Division bench ruled on 10 May 2011, by a majority opinion, declaring the Thirteenth Amendment unconstitutional.

The caretaker government system was formally abolished through the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in Parliament on 30 June 2011, and gazetted on 3 July that year.  

After the government changed on 5 August 2024, five individuals, including Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJON), filed a petition seeking a review of the verdict.

The others are Tofael Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zubairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman.  

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed a separate petition on 16 October, while Mia Golam Parwar, secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, submitted another on 23 October. 

Additionally, Md Mojaffar Hossain filed a petition last year seeking a review of the ruling.