Appellate Division to deliver verdict on 15th Amendment appeals tomorrow
The 15th Amendment was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on 30 June 2011 and received presidential assent on 3 July 2011.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court fixed tomorrow (9 July) to deliver its verdict on the appeals challenging the High Court judgment that declared parts of the Constitution's 15th Amendment unconstitutional and void.
The appeals seek the annulment of the amendment in its entirety.
"Hearing is concluded and judgment tomorrow," said the short order passed by the four-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury after three consecutive days of hearings.
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Senior Advocate Sharif Bhuiyan appeared for the appeal filed by Shujon Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, Senior Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, while Barrister ASM Shahriar Kabir appeared for freedom fighter Md Mofazzal Hossain.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal represented the state. The Appellate Division granted leave to appeal on 13 November, after which hearings on the appeals began.
The 15th Amendment was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on 30 June 2011 and received presidential assent on 3 July 2011.
The amendment abolished the caretaker government system, granted constitutional recognition to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation, increased the number of reserved parliamentary seats for women from 45 to 50, restored secularism and freedom of religion to the Constitution, and reinstated nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism as the fundamental principles of state policy.
It also classified the unconstitutional seizure of state power as treason punishable by the maximum penalty and amended the constitutional provision on parliamentary elections by requiring polls to be held within the 90 days preceding the expiry of parliament's term instead of within the 90 days following its dissolution.
In August 2024, five eminent citizens, including Badiul Alam Majumdar, filed a writ petition before the High Court seeking the annulment of the 15th Amendment.
On 19 August 2024, the High Court issued a rule asking why the amendment should not be declared inconsistent with the Constitution.
Later, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, Gono Forum and several individuals and organisations joined the proceedings as interveners. Freedom fighter Md Mofazzal Hossain also filed a separate writ petition. Following hearings on the rule, the High Court delivered its verdict on 17 December 2024.
After the judgment, Sharif Bhuiyan, counsel for Badiul Alam Majumdar and the other petitioners, said the court had struck down the provisions abolishing the caretaker government system, Articles 7A and 7B relating to the suspension, repeal and unamendability of the Constitution's basic provisions, Article 44(2), which curtailed the High Court's jurisdiction over the enforcement of fundamental rights, and the repeal of the referendum provision under Article 142.
He described the verdict as historic, saying it restored the constitutional position regarding Articles 7A, 7B, 44(2) and 142, including the requirement for a referendum on amendments to the Constitution's Preamble and certain other provisions.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haq Bhuiyan and Zahrah Rahman subsequently sought leave to appeal against the High Court judgment.
Separate petitions were also filed by Md Mofazzal Hossain and Mia Golam Parwar.
Later, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Gono Forum leader Subrata Chowdhury and several others became parties to the proceedings. Counsel for Badiul Alam Majumdar argued before the Appellate Division that the 15th Amendment should be annulled in its entirety.
