Top court sets Nov 17 for hearing on caretaker govt review petitions

The Appellate Division has scheduled a hearing for November 17 on three separate review petitions over the cancellation of the caretaker government system, which was abolished through the 16th amendment to the constitution.

The hearing was initially scheduled for today (Thursday), but Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman sought a four-week deferral, prompting the court to reschedule it.

The upcoming hearing will take place before a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed.

Earlier, on October 20, the Appellate Division’s chamber judge had set October 24 as the date for hearing two of the petitions challenging the ruling on the abolition of the caretaker government system.

The review petitions address the cancellation of the system, which was previously enshrined in the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1996.

One of the petitions was filed by Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), in August this year.

On October 16, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also submitted a separate review petition, followed by Jamaat-e-Islami on October 23.

The caretaker government system was introduced through the 13th amendment in 1996 to ensure neutral oversight of national elections.

But in 2011, the Appellate Division, led by then Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, declared the system unconstitutional and abolished it.

The court did, however, allow for the 10th and 11th general elections to be held under a caretaker government, contingent on parliamentary consensus over the appointment of the chief adviser.

Since the abolition of the system, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have persistently demanded its reinstatement.

The then ruling Awami League, on the other hand, firmly rejected these calls.