Hearing begins on appeal to restore caretaker govt

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has begun hearing the appeal against the verdict that annulled the caretaker government system.

The full seven-member Appellate Bench headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed started the hearing at 9:40 am on Tuesday, October 21.

Lawyer Dr Sharif Bhuiyan is representing the petitioners, while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman will appear on behalf of the state.

Earlier on August 27, the court granted permission to appeal after completing the hearing on review petitions filed against the verdict that scrapped the caretaker government provision.

Subsequently, five individuals — including Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Porwar — filed appeals.

The caretaker government provision was incorporated into the Constitution through the 13th Amendment, passed in Parliament in 1996. Its legality was first challenged in 1998 by advocate M Salim Ullah and two other lawyers. The High Court dismissed the writ on August 4, 2004, declaring the system valid.

However, in a landmark ruling on May 10, 2011, a full Appellate Division bench of seven judges annulled the 13th Amendment by majority opinion, declaring the caretaker government system unconstitutional.

Following the verdict, Parliament passed the 15th Amendment on June 30, 2011, formally abolishing the caretaker system. The gazette of the amendment was published on July 3 of that year.

After the change of government on August 5, 2024, five prominent citizens — including Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haque Bhuiyan and Zahra Rahman, sought a review of the verdict.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul filed a separate review petition on October 16, while Jamaat leader Professor Mia Golam Porwar filed one earlier on October 23 last year. Another review petition was later submitted by freedom fighter Md Mofazzal Hossain from Naogaon’s Raninagar upazila.