Cancellation of caretaker govt: Review plea filed challenging SC verdict

A petition was filed with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today seeking review of its verdict that scrapped the non-party caretaker government system in 2011.

Advocate Sharif Bhuiyan and Barrister Tanim Hussain Shawon submitted the review petition on behalf of five citizens including Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of rights organisation Shushaner Jonmo Nagorik.

The petition cites around 14 grounds on which the apex court may consider review of the judgement.

The four other citizens are Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Md Jobirul Hoque Bhuiyan and Zahrah Rahman.

Lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan told The Daily Star, "We have submitted the review petition against the Appellate Division's verdict that has revoked the constitution's 13th amendment which introduced the non-party caretaker government system in Bangladesh. We will move it before a full bench of this court after its reopening following the upcoming annual vacation."

Both the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the SC is scheduled to go into an annual vacation on September 6 and to reopen on October 20.

Citing the review petition, Sharif Bhuiyan said the caretaker government system had been introduced through political consensus of the people and therefore, it has become a basic structure of the constitution, which cannot be scrapped.

The Appellate Division verdict that cancelled the 13th amendment of the constitution is self-contradictory as the court in its short verdict said the next two national elections (10th and 11th parliamentary elections) could be held under the caretaker government, but this directive was not mentioned in the full judgement, the lawyer said.

Replying to a question, Sharif said if the Appellate Division allows the review petition, the caretaker government system will be restored in the country for holding the national elections.

Earlier on Sunday, chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam allowed the five citizens to file the petition with the court to seek review of its 2011 judgement.

A seven-judge full bench of the Appellate Division headed by the then chief justice ABM Khairul Haque by a majority view on May 10, 2011, declared the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (caretaker government) null and void.

Following the fall of dictator Ershad in 1990, the 13th Amendment introduced the caretaker government system into the Constitution. Supreme Court lawyer M Salimullah (now dead) and others filed a writ petition with the High Court in 1998 challenging the validity of this amendment.

The High Court on August 4, 2004 declared the 13th Amendment of the Constitution as valid and constitutional.

The HC, however, allowed the writ petitioners to directly file an appeal with the Appellate Division challenging its judgement. Following this, the writ petitioners in 2005 appealed before the Appellate Division against the HC verdict.

The Appellate Division then announced the verdict on May 10, 2010, allowing this appeal.

After the verdict announced, the 15th Amendment Act was passed by the National Parliament on June 30, 2011, bringing several issues, including the abolition of the caretaker government system.

A gazette was published on July 3, 2011.