Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh’s top appeals court is hesitant to restore the caretaker government system as a temporary measure, preferring instead a permanent solution to prevent recurring disruptions, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed said.
He emphasized that the objective is to ensure a decision with long-term significance for strengthening democracy in the country.
Justice Refaat also raised the question of when the caretaker system would come into effect if reinstated.
The remarks were made on Wednesday during the hearing of review petitions seeking reconsideration of the verdict that abolished the caretaker government system.
The hearing was held before the Supreme Court’s full Appellate Division bench of seven judges, led by the chief justice.
Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajol, along with advocates Shishir Monir and Sharif Bhuiyan, represented the petitioners, while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman appeared for the state.
Four review petitions-filed by a political party and six individuals-challenge the Supreme Court verdict that ended the caretaker government system. The first day of hearings occurred on Tuesday.
Long Legal Journey: The caretaker government mechanism was introduced through the 13th Amendment in 1996.
Its legality was contested in 1998 when three lawyers, including Advocate M Salimullah, filed a writ petition before the High Court.
On August 4, 2004, the High Court dismissed the petition, upholding the system as valid.
The petitioners appealed, and on May 10, 2011, a full bench of seven Appellate Division judges struck down the 13th Amendment by majority opinion, effectively nullifying the system.
Following this ruling, parliament passed the 15th Amendment on June 30, 2011, formally abolishing the caretaker government arrangement, with the decision gazetted on July 3 the same year.
New Move: After the government change on August 5 last year, SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, along with Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman, filed a review petition against the 2011 verdict.
Separately, on October 23, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar submitted a review petition, while freedom fighter Mofazzal Hossain filed another with the Appellate Division.
