Final hearing on appeal against caretaker govt system abolition adjourned till 2 Nov
The caretaker system had been incorporated into the Constitution through the 13th Amendment passed in Parliament in 1996. The amendment’s legality was challenged in 1998 by Advocate M Sali-mullah and two others through a writ petition
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has adjourned until 2 November the final hearing on an appeal on the abolition of election-time non-party caretaker government system.
The Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, issued the order today (29 October) after the fifth day of hearing on the matter.
Senior Advocate Zainul Abedin, who took part in today's hearing on behalf of the BNP, said to the court that the caretaker government system was first proposed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Later, the Awami League raised the demand, and subsequently, the BNP accepted it.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir, another lawyer representing a separate review petitioner, also presented his arguments on the same day.
Earlier, hearings were held on 21, 22, 23, and 28 October, during which arguments were placed by lawyers Sharif Bhuiyan on behalf of five petitioners including Badiul Alam Majumdar, Advocate Ehsan A Siddique as an intervener, and Advocate Shishir Monir for Jamaat-e-Islami.
On 27 August, following a preliminary hearing, the court granted permission for a fresh appeal regarding the 2011 verdict that annulled the caretaker government system.
The caretaker system had been incorporated into the Constitution through the 13th Amendment passed in Parliament in 1996. The amendment's legality was challenged in 1998 by Advocate M Sali-mullah and two others through a writ petition. The High Court rejected the petition in 2004, declaring the system constitutional.
The petitioners appealed the verdict in 2005, and on 10 May 2011, a seven-member Appellate Division bench, by a majority decision, declared the 13th Amendment unconstitutional, thereby abolishing the caretaker government system.
Following the verdict, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution — formally repealing the caretaker system — was passed by parliament on 30 June 2011 and gazetted on 3 July that year.
On 5 August 2024, following a change in government, five eminent citizens — including Badiul Alam Majumdar, Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zubairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman — filed a petition seeking a review of the verdict.
Separately, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed another review petition on 16 October last year, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar filed one on 23 October.
Another review petition was also submitted last year by freedom fighter Md Mofazzal Hossain of Raninagar, Naogaon.
