Dhaka, Oct 22 (V7N) – The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has begun the final hearing on appeals seeking the restoration of the caretaker government system enshrined in the Constitution. The hearing is being conducted by a full seven-member appellate bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed. On Tuesday, senior lawyer Dr. Sharif Bhuiyan represented the petitioners in the proceedings.

After the hearing, Dr. Bhuiyan told reporters that the caretaker government system had been annulled due to misinterpretation of the law, resulting in the absence of any truly legitimate elections in the country for the past decade. He argued that the interpretation of the Constitution and subsequent amendments over the past three elections created political crises and undermined democratic governance.

He emphasized the urgency of restoring the caretaker government system to ensure the democratic rights of the people. “Fourteen years ago, the caretaker system was wrongly abolished, pushing the country into darkness,” he said.

Dr. Bhuiyan further explained that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which established the caretaker government, was enacted based on political consensus and the will of the people to facilitate free, fair, and impartial elections. Its annulment led to three consecutive one-sided parliamentary elections, allowing unelected individuals to assume power and erode democratic norms. The ruling to nullify the amendment also weakened the fundamental constitutional framework, including sovereignty, fundamental rights, and judicial independence.

He criticized the methodology of the appellate bench led by former Chief Justice Khairul Haque, stating that it failed to follow standard constitutional interpretation practices and ignored the political context and consensus underpinning the caretaker system. “They annulled the Thirteenth Amendment based on abstract reasoning without considering the country’s political realities,” he said.

Dr. Bhuiyan described the annulment ruling as legally and structurally flawed, warning that its consequences could undermine democracy, potentially paving the way for authoritarian governance. “As a constitutional court, these aspects should have been considered. The judgment represents a complete misjudgment,” he added.

Present at the hearing on Tuesday were senior lawyer Zainul Abedin representing the BNP secretary general, lawyer Shishir Monir representing the Jamaat secretary general, and Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman representing the state. The hearing will continue on Wednesday.

The appeal follows prior requests for reconsideration of the ruling to annul the caretaker system. On August 27 last year, in a politically charged environment, former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque led the Supreme Court appellate division in a majority decision to declare the Thirteenth Amendment unconstitutional. Following this, multiple parties, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Parwar, and five eminent citizens led by Badiul Alam Mozumdar, filed separate appeals seeking reconsideration.

The appellate bench has now decided to hear all four petitions collectively. The Chief Justice remarked that the court would fully review the matter, with other review petitions to be heard alongside the main appeal.

Meanwhile, the appellate hearing on the high-profile Narayanganj abduction and murder case, involving seven victims including then-Panel Mayor Nazrul Islam, has been postponed for four weeks following a request from the defense. The hearing was overseen by the appellate bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed, with Additional Attorney General Anik R. Haque appearing for the state.

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