BNP, parties get SC nod to appeal against verdict scrapping CG system

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed BNP and other parties to file an appeal against its 2011 verdict that scrapped the election-time Caretaker Government (CG) system from the Constitution.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order after hearing four separate petitions seeking a review of the apex court's judgment.

Now the review petitions will automatically turn into appeal petitions with a new number as the apex court granted leave for those, said Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, one of the BNP counsels who represented the party in the court proceedings.

The court also set October 21 of this year for a detailed hearing on the appeals.

BNP, represented by its Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, represented by its Secretary-General Miah Golam Porwar, along with five prominent citizens including Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of the rights organization Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, and Md. Mofazzal Hossain, a freedom fighter from Naogaon, filed four separate petitions after the regime change on August 5 of last year.

During the hearing, the chief justice wanted to know how the caretaker government provision would be invoked if it was reinstated in the constitution.

Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman opined that the apex court might issue observations on when and how the caretaker government becomes effective.

He told the court that the 2011 verdict needed to be reviewed and scrapped in order to uphold democratic principles, which are part of the constitution's basic structure.

The attorney general suggested that the Supreme Court could resolve the Caretaker Government Issue directly, without granting leave or requiring further appeals.

However, the Chief Justice said that he would hear the details of the matter by granting leave.

BNP's lawyer Zainul Abedin told the court that former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque committed a fraud upon the administration of justice by altering the final judgment 16 months after his retirement.

According to Zainul, the original bench, chaired by Justice Khairul, had observed in open court on May 10, 2011, that the 10th and 11th parliamentary elections could be held under a caretaker government.

However, those observations were omitted from the final verdict published on September 16, 2011, after Justice Khairul had retired.

Following a writ petition, the High Court on August 4, 2004, declared the 13th Amendment of the Constitution as valid and constitutional. Later, an appeal was filed against the verdict.

The Appellate Division then announced the verdict on May 10, 2011, scrapping the Caretaker system by a majority view.

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