Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), has announced that an appeal will be filed shortly to fully reinstate the caretaker government system in Bangladesh.
He stated that the 15th Amendment had abolished the caretaker government through Parliament. However, since the Appellate Division annulled the 13th Amendment, the caretaker system has not yet been fully restored. Therefore, a decision has been made to file an appeal on this matter.
Dr Majumdar, one of the original petitioners in the case, made these remarks during a press briefing held on Tuesday at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. At the event, he also referred to the full verdict of the caretaker government case.
He said the High Court had declared the 15th Amendment unconstitutional. As a result, any government formed under that amendment is also illegal. He expressed satisfaction with the verdict, stating that it has paved the way for the return of the caretaker government. However, since the 15th Amendment was not entirely scrapped, he demanded its complete annulment. He further confirmed that an appeal would be lodged regarding the 13th Amendment.
Barrister Sharif Bhuiyan, a lawyer for the case, was also present at the press conference. He said the verdict on the 15th Amendment was delivered on 17 December last year, and the full judgment was published on 8 July. A copy of the judgment has already been obtained.
Sharif Bhuiyan explained that the proper procedure required for amending the Constitution was not followed in the 15th Amendment. “In 2011, the Constitution underwent a wholesale rewriting without the awareness of most people,” he said. “The 15th Amendment was not limited to abolishing the caretaker system—it fundamentally altered the structure of the state. It destroyed the democratic character of the Republic and established an authoritarian regime.”
Earlier, on 10 May 2011, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division had declared the 13th Amendment—introducing the caretaker government—unconstitutional and void. However, the court had also opined that the 10th and 11th parliamentary elections could be held under a caretaker government. In such cases, Parliament could reach a consensus in selecting the Chief Adviser to head the caretaker administration, the court noted.