Apex court begins hearing on appeal against HC verdict on 15th Amendment
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday began hearing an appeal against the High Court verdict that declared several provisions of the Constitution's 15th Amendment, including the abolition of the caretaker government system, unconstitutional.
The hearing commenced at around 9:45am before a bench headed by the Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal appeared for the state, while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir and Sharif Bhuiyan represented the writ petitioners.
The appeal follows the Supreme Court's decision on 13 November last year granting leave to challenge the HC judgment. Filed on behalf of Shujan (Citizens for Good Governance) Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar on 19 August 2024, the appeal seeks to have the entire 15th Constitutional Amendment declared void, rather than only the provisions struck down by the High Court.
Later, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, Gano Forum, Insaniyat Biplob and four other applicants joined the case as interveners.
In its landmark judgment on 17 December 2024, the HC declared unconstitutional several provisions introduced through the 15th Amendment, including those abolishing the caretaker government system, and restored the constitutional provision for referendums. However, it declined to invalidate the amendment in its entirety.
The court observed that democracy forms part of the Constitution's basic structure and can only flourish through free, fair and credible elections. It said the previous three parliamentary elections held under partisan governments had failed to reflect the will of the people, eroding public confidence in the electoral process and ultimately contributing to the July 2024 mass uprising.
The HC further held that the caretaker government system had become part of the Constitution's basic structure after being incorporated in line with the aspirations of the people.
The verdict declared Articles 20 and 21 of the 15th Amendment Act, which abolished the caretaker government system, unconstitutional on the grounds that they undermined the Constitution's basic structure. It also struck down Articles 7A, 7B and 44(2), introduced through the amendment, for being inconsistent with the Constitution.
At the same time, the court left the remainder of the amendment intact, observing that a future parliament could review, amend or repeal those provisions after consulting the public. These include the constitutional recognition of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation and provisions relating to the historic 7 March speech.
The HC also declared Section 47 of the 15th Amendment, which repealed the constitutional provision for referendums under Article 142, unconstitutional and restored the referendum provision introduced through the 12th Amendment.
The 15th Amendment, enacted on 30 June 2011, abolished the caretaker government system, recognised Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation, increased the number of reserved parliamentary seats for women from 45 to 50, and introduced a number of other constitutional changes.