The third day of hearings on the appeal seeking the reinstatement of the caretaker government system during elections is currently underway. The hearing began at 9:50 a.m. on Thursday in the Appellate Division’s full bench of seven judges, headed by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed.
Barrister Ehsan A. Siddiqi is participating in the hearing as an intervenor.
Earlier, on Wednesday, during the second day of the hearing, Dr. Sharif Bhuiyan concluded his arguments on behalf of the petitioner, Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar.
The appeal hearing began on October 21, after the court on August 27 granted permission to appeal following the hearing of a review petition challenging the verdict that abolished the caretaker government system.
Subsequently, Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar and five other eminent citizens, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Prof. Mia Golam Porwar filed separate appeals.
The caretaker government system was incorporated into the Constitution through the 13th Amendment in 1996. However, its legality was challenged in 1998 by three lawyers in the High Court. On August 4, 2004, the High Court dismissed the petition, declaring the caretaker system constitutional and valid.
Later, in 2005, the matter was appealed to the Appellate Division, which, on May 10, 2011, by a majority opinion, declared the 13th Amendment unconstitutional, thereby abolishing the caretaker government system. Following that verdict, the 15th Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament on June 30, 2011, and gazetted on July 3, 2011, officially removing the caretaker system from the Constitution.
After the change in government on August 5, 2024, a review petition of the verdict was filed by Citizens for Good Governance (SUJAN) Secretary Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar along with five eminent citizens—Tofail Ahmed, M. Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman—seeking reinstatement of the caretaker government system.
In addition, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed a review petition on October 16, while Jamaat leader Prof. Mia Golam Porwar submitted another on October 23.
Separately, freedom fighter Md. Mofazzal Hossain of Naogaon’s Raninagar area also filed a similar review petition last year.