Dhaka: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has scheduled February 9 for the hearing of three review petitions concerning the restoration of the 13th amendment to the constitution and the reinstatement of the poll-time non-party caretaker government system. The decision was announced by a four-member bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, following a time request from senior jurists Zainul Abedin and Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal representing the BNP.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Appellate Division's full bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, had postponed the hearing on December 1, 2024. The petitions were submitted by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Miah Golam Parwar, and Badiul Alam Majumdar, the Secretary of the rights organization Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik. These petitions will be heard simultaneously.
On December 17, 2024, the High Court declared the abolition of the caretaker government system in the constitution illegal. The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Ray Chowdhury, which also reinstated the provision for a referendum in the constitution.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman, speaking to journalists after the judgment, indicated that the High Court's decision to declare the removal of the caretaker government provision as illegal means the system is now part of the constitution. Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal highlighted the court's observation, noting that the caretaker government system was originally included in the constitution based on political consensus, making it a fundamental aspect of the constitution.