Cancellation of caretaker govt: Review petition against SC verdict likely tomorrow

A petition is likely to be filed with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court tomorrow seeking a review of its 2011 verdict that scrapped the non-party caretaker government system.
Advocate Sharif Bhuiyan will submit the review petition on behalf of five citizens, including Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of rights organisation Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan).
The petition will mention around 14 grounds, on which the apex court may consider reviewing the judgement.
“We have already prepared the review petition, including 14 grounds, against the Appellate Division verdict revoking the constitution’s 13th amendment which introduced the non-party caretaker government system in Bangladesh,” lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan told The Daily Star today.
“We will submit it [the review petition] to the section concerned of the Appellate Division tomorrow [Tuesday] and will move it before a full bench of this court after its reopening following the upcoming annual vacation,” Dr Sharif said.
“We will submit it [the review petition] to the section concerned of the Appellate Division tomorrow [Tuesday] and will move it before the chamber judge, who will fix a date for hearing,” he said.
They request the chamber judge to move the petition before a full bench of this court after its reopening following the upcoming annual vacation, Sharif said.
Both the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the SC are scheduled to go on an annual vacation on September 6. The court will reopen on October 20.
Citing the review petition, Sharif 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 had cancelled the 13th amendment of the constitution was “self-contradictory” as the court in its short verdict said that 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 election.
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.
The apex court chamber judge passed the order following an application filed by the five seeking permission to move the review petition.
The other four citizens are Tofail Ahmed, M Hafizuddin Khan, Md Jobirul Hoque Bhuiyan and Zahrah Rahman.
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 in the constitution.
The then Supreme Court lawyer M Salimullah and some others filed a writ in the High Court in 1998 challenging the validity of this amendment.
The High Court on August 4, 2004 after the final hearing declared the 13th amendment 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 appealed before the Appellate Division against the HC verdict in 2005.
The Appellate Division announced the verdict on May 10, 2010, allowing this appeal. After the verdict was 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.