Hearing on petitions to review caretaker govt verdict deferred
The Appellate Division has adjourned the hearing on four petitions seeking a review of its verdict that abolished the caretaker government system for two weeks. The petitions were filed by political parties and six individuals.
A three-member Appellate Division bench, led by Senior Justice M Ashfaqul Islam, issued the order today (11 February).
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.
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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.
