The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) has declared the much-awaited verdict to abolish non-party caretaker government system for holding national elections is illegal.
The appex court now reinstated the caretaker government system in the constitution by announcing the 13th Amendment valid.
A seven-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the judgement on Thursday (November 20), granting the appeal against the judgment cancelling the 13th Amendment.
The apex court in its observation said that the next national election would be held under the interim government and the caretaker government system would be applied from the 14th national election.
The caretaker system was introduced into the constitution through the 13th Amendment in 1996.
Earlier, on August 27, the Appellate Division allowed the filing of an appeal against the verdict that abolished the caretaker government system.
The hearing of the appeal to restore the caretaker government system began on October 21. Later, three lawyers, including Advocate M Salim Ullah, filed a writ petition challenging the amendment in 1998.The petition was dismissed in 2004, and the petitioners appealed in 2005.Acting on that appeal, a full bench of the Appellate Division delivered a verdict on May 10, 2011, declaring the 13th Amendment null and void.
Following the verdict, the 15th Amendment Act, which abolished the caretaker government system along with several other changes, was passed in Parliament on June 30, 2011, with the gazette notification published on July 3 that year.
After the change of government, five prominent individuals, including Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN) Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, filed an appeal on August 5 last year seeking a review of the verdict.
The other petitioners were Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haq Bhuiyan and Zahra Rahman.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed a review petition on October 16, followed by another from Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Prof Mia Golam Parwar on October 23.
PT/ra
