Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division has set 8 May as the date for hearing four applications submitted by BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and six individuals seeking a review of the verdict that abolished the caretaker government system.
The order was issued on Sunday (2 March) by a three-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Senior Justice Mohammad Ashfaqul Islam.
Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman represented the state in court, while the petitioners were represented by Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajol and Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir.
On 11 February, the Appellate Division had previously postponed the hearing of the four applications filed by political parties and six individuals requesting a review of the ruling that annulled the caretaker government system.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which introduced the caretaker government system, was passed by the National Parliament in 1996.
In 1998, three lawyers, including Advocate M. Solim Ullah, filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the validity of the amendment.
On 4 August 2004, the High Court dismissed the petition and upheld the legality of the caretaker government system, allowing for a direct appeal against the ruling.
Subsequently, in 2005, the petitioners lodged an appeal, and on 10 May 2011, the Appellate Division’s full bench of seven judges declared the 13th Amendment unconstitutional by majority opinion.
Following the ruling, the 15th Amendment – abolishing the caretaker government system along with other changes – was passed in the National Parliament on 30 June 2011. A related gazette notification was published on 3 July 2011.
After a change in government on 5 August, five prominent individuals, including Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (Shujan), filed an application seeking a review of the ruling.
The other four applicants were Tofail Ahmed, M. Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman.
