The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated the non-party caretaker government system for national elections, overturning its 2011 verdict that had abolished the mechanism.
The decision, effective prospectively, is set to govern future polls.
A seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the verdict, which came after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and other petitioners sought a review to revive the system. Both the government and the petitioners urged that the restored mechanism apply from the next general election, expected under the current administration.
The Appellate Division resumed hearings on October 21 after allowing five eminent citizens 鈥� including Shujan secretary Badiul Alam Majumder, the BNP secretary general, and representatives of Jamaat 鈥� to file review petitions following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.
During the hearings, lawyers argued that the written judgment released in 2012 鈥� after former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque鈥檚 retirement 鈥� had omitted oral observations permitting the next two elections under caretaker governments. Justice Md Wahhab Miah later noted that the written verdict did not match the short order delivered in open court.
The judgment was passed by a narrow 4鈥�3 majority, sparking fresh debate over its constitutional and political implications.
The short verdict stated that the Appellate Division had unanimously allowed the civil appeals and disposed of the civil review petitions. It said the previous judgment 'contained several obvious errors' and has been completely cancelled.
'The constitutional provisions on the Non-Party Caretaker Government (NPCG), introduced by the 13th Amendment in 1996, are now revived and active again,' the verdict said. 'Although Chapter IIA is automatically restored, its operation depends on enforcing Articles 58B(1) and 58C(2) of the Constitution. Therefore, the revived caretaker government system will apply only in the future, not retrospectively.' The full judgment will be released later.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman told 抖阴精品 that the upcoming election will be held under the interim government, while the following general election will take place under the revived caretaker system.
However, Sujan鈥檚 lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan said the next polls cannot be held under a caretaker government, as the Constitution requires such a government to be formed within 15 days of dissolving Parliament.
He noted that Parliament was dissolved more than a year ago, making the caretaker system inapplicable for the upcoming elections.
