SC’s ruling on caretaker govt system today
Staff Reporter :
The Supreme Court is set to deliver its much-anticipated judgment tomorrow morning on the appeals and review petitions challenging its 2011 decision that abolished the non-party caretaker government system.
According to the cause list published on the Supreme Court’s website, the Appellate Division has placed the appeals and review petitions as the first two items for pronouncement of the verdict.
A seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed wrapped up hearings on 11 November and scheduled 20 November for the delivery of the judgment.
During the hearing, counsels for the appellants, petitioners, and the state urged the court to overturn its earlier ruling and reinstate the caretaker government system in the constitution, arguing that such a provision is essential for ensuring credible national elections and safeguarding democratic processes.
The review petitions were filed last year by BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, five citizens, freedom fighter Mofazzal Islam from Naogaon, and two rights organisations.
They sought reconsideration of the Appellate Division’s landmark 2011 verdict, which declared the 13th Amendment—providing for a non-party caretaker government—unconstitutional.
That verdict, delivered on 10 May 2011 by a majority of a seven-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, paved the way for the abolition of the caretaker system. Soon after, the parliament passed the 15th Amendment on 30 June 2011, formally removing the provision from the constitution.
The amendment was published in the official gazette on 3 July the same year.
In the latest round of hearings, senior lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan represented the five citizens; Zainul Abedin, Md Bodruddoza Badal, and Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared on behalf of BNP; Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir argued for Jamaat-e-Islami; lawyer Shahriar Kabir represented freedom fighter Mofazzal Islam; and Ehsan A Siddiq and Imran Siddiq stood for the two rights groups. Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state.
With political attention sharply focused on tomorrow’s verdict, the ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for the country’s electoral framework and broader democratic discourse.