Chief justice questions impact on parliamentary authority if caretaker government restored
He posed the question during the second day of hearings at the Appellate Division on the case seeking reinstatement of the caretaker government ahead of the 14th national election.
Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed today (22 October) raised concerns over whether restoring the caretaker government system through a Supreme Court verdict could undermine the powers of parliament.
He posed the question during the second day of hearings at the Appellate Division on the case seeking reinstatement of the caretaker government ahead of the 14th national election.
During the hearing, election expert Badiul Alam Majumder's lawyer requested that the caretaker government system be reinstated, highlighting that the case had been heard by a total of 12 judges, including eight who supported the continuation of the caretaker government and four, including former Chief Justice A B M Khairul Haque, who recommended its annulment.
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Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury questioned whether restoring the caretaker government would be reasonable in the current context. Lawyer Sharif Bhuiya subsequently requested that the court issue clear guidelines on the caretaker system.
The Appellate Division concluded the second day of hearings on Wednesday, with proceedings now scheduled to resume on Thursday.
The caretaker government system was incorporated into the Constitution through the 13th Amendment in 1996. Its validity was challenged in 1998 by three lawyers, including M Salim Ullah, through a writ petition in the High Court. The High Court upheld the system in 2004, declaring it legal.
Following direct permission to appeal, the Appellate Division's full bench of seven judges in 2011, by majority, annulled the 13th Amendment, paving the way for its repeal under the 15th Amendment, which was passed by Parliament on 30 June 2011 and gazetted on 3 July.
In August 2024, following the ouster of the Hasina regime, five prominent citizens, including Badiul Alam Majumder, Secretary of Sujan (Citizens for Good Governance), applied for a review of the verdict. The applicants also include Tofayel Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haq Bhuiya, and Zahra Rahman.
On 16 October, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed a separate review petition with the Appellate Division. The court has now ordered hearings on these review applications.
