Supreme Court resumes appeal hearing on caretaker govt abolition verdict

The Supreme Court has resumed hearings on the appeal seeking the restoration of the election-time caretaker government system on day two of proceedings.

The hearing began around 9:30am today (22 October) before a full bench of seven judges, headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed.

Senior lawyer Dr Sharif Bhuiyan is representing the appeal, while Additional Attorney General Barrister Anik R Haque is set to argue on behalf of the state.

The first day of the hearing on the appeal took place yesterday (21 October).

Earlier, on 27 August, the Appellate Division granted permission to file appeals against the verdict that declared the caretaker government system unconstitutional and announced it would hold a fresh hearing on the issue.

During the previous hearing, the chief justice remarked that the court did not intend to restore the caretaker government merely as a temporary fix.

Instead, he said, the Appellate Division sought an effective, lasting solution to the issue of election-time governments to ensure democratic continuity.

He also raised the question of when the system would take effect if reinstated.

In response, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said that over the past decade and a half, citizens had been subjected to oppression rather than governance, citing enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and political persecution.

He argued that systems meant to ensure justice had been destroyed, leading to the fall of the Awami League-led government last year.

There was no way to disregard the power of the people, he said, adding that any attempt to do so inevitably sparked a revolution.

The caretaker government provision was introduced through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1996.

It was challenged in 1998 by three lawyers, including Advocate M Salim Ullah.

The High Court upheld the system's legality in 2004, but an appeal was filed later with the Supreme Court's Appellate Division in 2005 against that verdict.

The Appellate Division in May 2011 declared the 13th Amendment unconstitutional, effectively abolishing the caretaker government.

In response, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in parliament on 30 June 2011, and the gazette was published on 3 July that year.

After that, three national elections were held under Awami League governments.

Following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, five eminent citizens, SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, first filed a review petition on 27 August last year seeking reconsideration of the 2011 verdict.

Later, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar and freedom fighter Md Mofazzal Hossain also filed similar but separate petitions.