Case appeal against Justice Khairul Haque rejected

A Dhaka court has rejected an appeal to file a case against former Chief Justice and recently resigned chairman of the Law Commission, Khairul Haque, accusing him of changing the judgment which annulled the 13th Amendment of the Constitution related to the repeal of the caretaker government system.

A lawyer named Imrul Hasan filed the case with Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Dilruba Afroz Bithi's court on Sunday (August 18). At that time, the court said that it will issue an order after taking the testimony of the plaintiff. Later, the court dismissed the case as there was no material to accept it.

According to the application of the case, the system of caretaker government was added to the constitution of Bangladesh in 1996 through the 13th Amendment. Since then, at the end of the term of the government, the next government was formed by the election under the caretaker government. Thus, the elections of 1996, 2001 and 2008 were held. When the BNP was in power, the High Court ruled in 2004 declaring the caretaker government system valid in response to a writ petition filed by advocate M Salim Ullah and others challenging the validity of this amendment.

The writ petitioner appealed against that judgment to the Appellate Division. However, as M Salim Ullah died due to illness, another lawyer named Abdul Mannan Khan took forward the writ petition. On March 1, 2010, the hearing in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court began. Apart from the appellant and the state, eight leading lawyers appeared as amicus curiae during the hearing. They favoured maintaining the caretaker government system. Even the then Attorney General Mahbube Alam was in favor of it. However, without considering the statement of amicus curiae, Justice Khairul Haque made the decision based on the opinion of the majority of seven judges of the Appellate Division, three of the six judges agreed in favour of the amicus curiae. But the other three judges opposed the decision. The result of the case was tied. As a result, ABM Khairul Haque, as the Chief Justice, had the power make the final decision. He ruled by abolishing the caretaker government system.

In the 13th Amendment case, the Supreme Court left open the way for the two-term caretaker government system to be upheld. But he did not sign finally and took the document home under his own responsibility due to public dissatisfaction including in the political arena.

Justice Khairul Haque retired on May 17, 2012. On September 13, 2012, the full verdict was released. In a publicly announced judgment in the 13th Amendment case, the Supreme Court left open the way for the two-term caretaker government system to be upheld. But Chief Justice Khairul Haque did not keep this part in the judgment which he issued 16 months and 3 days after the judgment was announced.