Civil society platform Susashoner Jonno Nagorik secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, a petitioner against the constitution鈥檚 15th amendment, on Tuesday said that he would file an appeal challenging parts of a December High Court verdict that cancelled the amendment.
Badiul, also a member of the National Consensus Commission, said this at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.
He welcomed the judgement鈥檚 part that restored the non-party caretaker government system for overseeing the national elections but said that the verdict contained 鈥榠nconsistencies鈥� and required more legal reviews.
The 15th amendment, passed in 2011 by the then-Awami League government, removed the caretaker government system and altered 54 constitutional provisions.
Badiul and four other individuals, after the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the amendment.
Citing his written articles identifying that the 15th amendment was passed without due procedures, he said, 鈥楾he 15th amendment lacked both legal legitimacy and public consent.鈥�
On December 17, 2024, the High Court ruled that key sections of the amendment, including those repealing the caretaker government system, were unconstitutional. On July 8, the High Court released the full text of the verdict.
The verdict said that it was up to the next parliament to review and decide on the legality of some parts of the 15th amendment.
The ruling said that the removal of the caretaker system through sections 20 and 21 of the 15th amendment violated the basic structure of the constitution, particularly democracy, electoral fairness, and public trust.
It struck down the abolition of article 58A and Chapter IIA, which had mandated a neutral interim government during elections.
However, the restoration of the caretaker system will apply only in future elections, not retroactively, the verdict said.
Badiul鈥檚 lead counsel Sharif Bhuiyan, who was present at the press conference, said that the court ruling did not fully address the flawed legislative process.
While no specific appeal agenda and timeline was given, Sharif confirmed that they had requested a certified copy of the verdict to proceed.
