The High Court on Monday scheduled July 7 for the final hearing of a writ petition that challenged the constitutionality of a provision introduced by the 15th amendment that authorises the speaker of parliament to administer the oath of office to the president.
The bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar fixed the date following a prayer by petitioner鈥檚 counsel Omar Farouq for speedy disposal of the case.
On March 11, the same bench issued a rule asking the government to explain why the transfer of this authority from the chief justice to the speaker should not be declared unconstitutional.
The court also questioned why the original provision鈥攕tipulated in Clause 10 of the Provisional constitution of Bangladesh Order, 1972鈥攕hould not be reinstated, under which the chief justice administers the oath to the president.
Petitioner Shahidullah Faraizee, a poet, essayist and columnist, filed the writ in public interest, seeking to restore the constitutional balance and uphold the original spirit of the nation鈥檚 founding legal document.
According to the 1972 Provisional Constitution Order, the chief justice was to administer the president鈥檚 oath, who in turn would swear in the prime minister, ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers.
The cabinet had the authority to determine the form of these oaths.
Lawyer Omar Farouq told the court that this process remained intact until the 4th amendment altered it, assigning the speaker to administer the president鈥檚 oath鈥攁 change briefly reversed by the 5th amendment, before being reinstated by the 15th amendment.
He argued that this shift undermines the judiciary鈥檚 constitutional role and distorts the original framework envisioned by the constitution鈥檚 framers.
