The High Court on Tuesday declared several provisions of the 15th amendment to the Constitution, including the abolition of the caretaker government system, as invalid.
A bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury delivered the verdict, stating that the 15th amendment undermined the basic structure of the Constitution and disrupted the country's electoral system.
Following a 23-day hearing, the bench set Tuesday as the date for announcing the judgment. The hearing was part of a rule issued on December 5.
The High Court issued a ruling on August 19 questioning why the 15th amendment, which abolished the caretaker government system, should not be declared unconstitutional.
The rule was issued by a bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Shashank Shekhar Sarkar following a writ petition filed by Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), and petitioner John.
The 15th Amendment Bill was passed in the National Parliament on June 30, 2011, and received presidential assent on July 3, 2011.
Key changes included – the abolition of the caretaker government system; constitutional recognition of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation; an increase in the number of reserved seats for women in Parliament from 45 to 50; the reinstatement of secularism and religious freedom as key principles of the state, alongside nationalism, socialism, and democracy; the criminalization of unconstitutional seizures of state power, categorizing it as an act of treason with provisions for maximum punishment; and the addition of a provision allowing elections to be held within the 90 days preceding the expiry of a parliamentary term, instead of after its dissolution.
In its observations, the High Court noted that the 15th amendment fundamentally altered the Constitution’s basic structure and destroyed the electoral framework of the country.
This verdict comes in response to longstanding debates surrounding the caretaker government system, which had previously been used to oversee general elections in Bangladesh.
Further legal and political responses to the verdict are expected in the coming days.
