Major legal decision in Bangladesh: Caretaker government system reinstated

In a major legal development on Tuesday, December 17, Bangladesh’s High Court announced a ruling that has brought significant changes to the country‍‍`s political system.

The court canceled the parliamentary elections under a party-based government, reinstated the caretaker government system, and reintroduced the provision for a national referendum. It also annulled certain articles in the Constitution that were linked to unconstitutional power grabs.

The judgment came from the High Court bench, which included Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury.

They had been hearing the case to decide whether the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished the caretaker government system, should be declared illegal.

Justice Farah Mahbub read out the main parts of the ruling. During the reading, the court stressed that the Constitution is the highest law of the land, and that Article 7 is the foundation.

The court also pointed out that the 15th Amendment had destroyed the core structure of the Constitution.

The ruling followed a long period of hearings, spanning 23 working days. The High Court had set December 17 as the day for delivering the judgment, after hearings began on December 5.

Representing the government in court were Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman and Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Asad Uddin.

Senior lawyer Dr. Sharif Bhuiyan appeared for Badiul Alam Majumdar from the group Sujan, while Senior Lawyers Zainul Abedin, Barrister Bodruddoza Badal, Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajol, and Advocate Farzana Sharmin Putul represented BNP.

Lawyers Mohammad Shishir Manir and Barrister Ehsan Siddiqi appeared for Jamaat, while Advocate Ishrat Hasan represented Insaniyat Biplob.

The four petitioners had Barrister Junayed Ahmed Chowdhury, and Barrister Hamidul Misbah appeared as an intervener in the case.

The petitioners had asked the court to declare the 15th Amendment illegal, as it abolished the caretaker government system.

In response to the rule issued by the High Court, key political figures, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP‍‍`s Secretary-General, and Miah Golam Parwar, Secretary-General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, joined the case.

Other political groups, such as Insaniyat Biplob and Gano Forum, also joined as intervenors.

Back in August, the High Court issued a rule questioning why the 15th Amendment, which had removed the caretaker government system, should not be deemed unconstitutional.

This rule was issued after hearing a petition from Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar of Sujan and others.

The court‍‍`s decision is expected to have far-reaching consequences for Bangladesh‍‍`s political landscape, especially regarding future elections and governance.