Hearing is rescheduled following a review petition on the annulment of the 13th amendment
Published : 19 Jan 2025, 12:28 PM
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has rescheduled the hearing of a review petition challenging the annulment of the 13th Amendment, which introduced the caretaker government system, to Feb 9.
A four-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Justice Ashfaqul Islam, issued the order to postpone the hearing originally set for Sunday.
Barrister Kaiser Kamal, representing the review petitioners, told reporters that the hearing had been deferred to Feb 9 following their request.
On Dec 1, the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, had initially scheduled the hearing for Jan 19.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed the review petition on Oct 16, challenging the verdict that invalidated the 13th Amendment.
Earlier, Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik, or SUJAN, and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar also filed similar petitions.
The court has decided to hear all the review petitions together.
The 13th amendment, incorporating the caretaker government system, was adopted in the national parliament in 1996.
This amendment's legality was challenged through a writ by Advocate M Salim Ullah and two other lawyers in the High Court.
The writ was dismissed on Aug 4, 2004, during the BNP government, thereby upholding the legality of the caretaker government system.
The petitioners filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision in 2005.
In 2006, amid the political crisis and the subsequent imposition of a state of emergency, questions were raised about the caretaker government system after it remained in power for two years.
Upon the Awami League’s return to power, the Appellate Division began hearing the case on the 13th amendment on Mar 1, 2010.
Prominent lawyers, including eight amici curiae, or senior legal experts, presented arguments during the hearing.
Many, including then attorney general Mahbubey Alam, advocated for retaining the caretaker government system.
However, a seven-member full bench of the Appellate Division, led by former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque, annulled the 13th amendment on May 10, 2011, through a majority decision.
Before the full verdict was published, the 15th amendment to the constitution, which abolished the caretaker government system along with 54 other amendments, was passed by parliament on Jun 30, 2011, and ratified by the president on Jul 3 that year.
Meanwhile, on Dec 17, a High Court bench comprising justices Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury declared sections 20 and 21 of the 15th amendment, regarding the caretaker government’s abolition, as unconstitutional and void.