The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday adjourned until Tuesday the hearing on an appeal challenging a High Court verdict that declared several provisions of the Constitution's 15th Amendment, including the abolition of the caretaker government system, illegal, with the appellants' counsel saying the proceedings must be completed by 13 or 14 July.
The development came after the hearing of the case resumed after six months on Monday in a bench headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal and Deputy Attorney General Anik R Haque represented the state during the hearing, while Sharif Bhuiyan and Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for the appellants.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, advocate Sharif Bhuiyan, representing the appellants, said, "As this bench has started the hearing, it must also conclude it. The proceedings have to be completed by mid July because one of the honourable judges will retire after that. If the judgment is not delivered before the judge's retirement, the entire hearing will become ineffective, as happened previously.”
He said he hoped the court was equally eager to dispose of the matter without delay.
Sharif argued that the 15th Amendment had fundamentally altered the basic character of the Constitution and should therefore be struck down.
"It should be annulled so that such anti-people amendments cannot be made in future and the democratic aspirations of the people cannot be undermined," he said.
The appeal challenges a HC judgment that declared several provisions of the 15th Amendment unconstitutional, including those abolishing the caretaker government system, while restoring the constitutional provision for referendums.
The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal on 13 November last year.
On 17 December 2024, the HC declared unconstitutional several provisions introduced through the 15th Amendment, including the abolition of the caretaker government system. However, it stopped short of striking down the amendment in its entirety.
The appeal, filed on behalf of ‘Shujan’ Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, seeks the complete annulment of the 15th Amendment.