Fakhrul seeks full cancellation of 15th Amendment in appeal

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has joined the appeal challenging the High Court verdict that declared several elements of the much-debated 15th Constitutional Amendment, including the abolition of the caretaker government system, illegal. In the appeal, Fakhrul has sought the entire cancellation of the 15th Amendment, including provisions abolishing the caretaker government system.

A Supreme Court Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed granted Fakhrul's petition today (2 December). The court has not yet fixed a date for the hearing. Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal represented Fakhrul.

Earlier, on 13 November, the Appellate Division granted leave to appeal against the High Court verdict that had ruled several provisions of the amendment, including those repealing the caretaker system, unconstitutional. The leave petition was moved by Dr Sharif Bhuiyan, while Additional Attorney General Barrister Aneek R Haque represented the state.

The leave-to-appeal petition seeking to scrap the amendment in its entirety was filed on 3 November by Dr Sharif Bhuiyan on behalf of Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of citizens' platform Sujon, the original petitioner.

On 17 December last year, the High Court declared multiple provisions of the 15th Amendment unconstitutional, including those abolishing the caretaker government system, and reinstated the provision for a referendum in the constitution. However, the court did not strike down the amendment as a whole.

In its observations, the court said democracy is a core pillar of the constitution and can only thrive through free, fair, and neutral elections. It noted that the last three parliamentary polls held under partisan governments failed to reflect the people's mandate and contributed to the July mass uprising.

The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury ruled that the caretaker system had been adopted in line with public demand and had since become part of the constitution's basic structure. It declared Sections 20 and 21 of the 15th Amendment Act unconstitutional, saying they undermined the document's democratic foundation.

The court observed that although 54 provisions of the constitution had been inserted, amended, or replaced through the 15th Amendment, only those conflicting with the basic structure were being struck down. Provisions such as the recognition of the Father of the Nation and the declaration of 26 March were left for Parliament to retain in line with public sentiment.

The High Court also reinstated the referendum provision by cancelling Section 47 of the 15th Amendment Act, which had removed it from Article 142.