Apex court's judgment on appeal petitions seeking restoration of the abolished system of election-time caretaker government is set for November 20, amid expectations for breakthroughs in election-centric crises in Bangladesh.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Tuesday concluded hearings on the appeal petitions filed for restoration of the Caretaker Government system into the Constitution.
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order on conclusion of the hearings on the appeal petitions.
"Hearing is concluded. Announcement of judgment on November 20," says a short order passed by the Appellate Division full bench.
During the hearings, all parties to the case, including the state, expressed the hope that the apex court would apply the verdict from the 14th national elections if it restores the CG system.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), represented by its Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, represented by its Secretary-General Miah Golam Porwar, and five prominent citizens, including Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of the rights organisation Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, and Md Mofazzal Hossain, a freedom fighter from Naogaon, filed four separate petitions after the regime change on August 5 last year.
The caretaker-government system was incorporated into the Constitution in 1996 through the 13th amendment. Later, Supreme Court lawyer M Salimullah (now deceased) and others filed a writ petition with the High Court in 1998 challenging the legality of this amendment.
Following the writ petition, the High Court declared the 13th Amendment of the Constitution valid and constitutional on August 4, 2004.
Later, an appeal was filed against the verdict. The Appellate Division, headed by then Chief Justice Khairul Haque, announced on May 10, 2011 its verdict scrapping the system on a majority view.
After the verdict was announced, the 15th Amendment Act was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on June 30, 2011, addressing several issues, including the abolition of the system of nonpartisan caretaker government.
No review petition was filed during the Sheikh Hasina regime challenging the verdict. However, after Sheikh Hasina's fall on August 5 this year amid a mass uprising fuelled by angst over botched elections, four review petitions were filed.
Apart from this, a human-rights organisation filed another review petition and an organisation joined in the case as an intervener in the legal battle for "restoration of voting right".
After holding hearings on the review petitions, the apex court on August 27 this year granted leave for those petitions enabling them to turn as appeal petitions automatically.
As the story goes, the apex court later started its hearing on the appeals on October 21 this year and continued until November 11.
Meanwhile, a High Court bench on December 17 last year scrapped the major provisions of the 15th amendment of the constitution in response to petitions challenging "legality of the constitutionality" of the amendment that scrapped the nonparty-government system.
The court observed that this amendment "destroyed the basic structure of the Constitution" and also contradictory to the short verdict of the Appellate Division regarding the 13th amendment.
Lawyers Sharif Bhuiyan and Karshma Jahan appeared in the court proceedings on behalf of five citizens, Zainul Abedin and Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for BNP and Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for Jamaat.
Attorney-General Md Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney-General Aneeq R Haque represented the state, and lawyer Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq appeared on behalf of the intervener organisation.
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