Dhaka, Dec 17, (V7N) - The High Court will deliver its verdict on the separate rule issued regarding the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished the caretaker government system, today, Tuesday.

The bench, consisting of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury, set the date for the ruling after hearing the matter on December 5. According to the Supreme Court’s website, the case regarding the 15th Amendment is listed as number 1 and 2 on the High Court bench's agenda for today.

During the hearing of the rule, Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman and Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Asad Uddin represented the state, while Senior Advocate Sharif Bhuiyan appeared on behalf of the petitioner, Badal Alam Majumder, from the organization Shushasoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN). Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin, Badruddoza Badal, and Ruhul Kuddus Kajol appeared on behalf of the BNP, while Shishir Monir and Barrister Ehsan Siddiqui represented Jamaat-e-Islami. Advocate Ishrat Hasan appeared for Insaniyat Biplob, and Junayed Ahmed Chowdhury and Hamidul Misbah appeared for four other petitioners as intervenors.

The 15th Amendment, passed by the National Parliament on June 30, 2011, and gazetted on July 3, 2011, made significant changes to the Constitution. It officially recognized Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation. The amendment also abolished the caretaker government system and increased the reserved seats for women in the National Parliament from 45 to 50. Furthermore, it introduced the provision to treat the unconstitutional takeover of state power as treason, punishable by the maximum penalty. The amendment also changed the provision for holding elections from within 90 days after the expiration of the term to holding them within the previous 90 days.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Sharif Bhuiyan argued that the 15th Amendment introduced an authoritarian structure, and the entire amendment process was corrupt, making it unconstitutional.

In the wake of political changes, a petition challenging the legality of the 15th Amendment was filed in the High Court on August 18 by Badal Alam Majumder, the Secretary of SUJAN, along with four other prominent individuals—Tofayel Ahmed, M. Hafiz Uddin Khan, Jobairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman. Following the hearing, the High Court issued a rule on the matter. Various political parties, including BNP, Jamaat, and Insaniyat Biplob, joined as intervenors in the case. Additionally, in October, freedom fighter Mohammad Mofazzal Hossain, a resident of Narayanpara in Raninagar, Naogaon, filed another petition challenging the validity of 17 sections of the 15th Amendment. The same bench of the High Court issued another rule on this petition on October 29.

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