The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday granted permission to file a review petition challenging its May 10, 2011 verdict that declared the election-time non-party caretaker government system illegal.
Five eminent citizens obtained the permission from the Appellate Division judge in chamber Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam.
The court passed the order as lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan, representing the five, submitted a public interest application filed by Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik president M Hafizuddin Khan, its secretary Badiul Alam Majumder, local government expert Tofail Ahmed, and individuals Md Jobirul Hoque and Zahrah Rahman.
This move followed the ouster of Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 in a student-led mass uprising, her fleeing to India and assuming power of the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus on August 8.
The Appellate Division, headed by then chief justice ABM Khairul Haque, declared the 13th amendment to the constitution, which introduced the non-party caretaker government system, unconstitutional.
The 2011 verdict allowed for two more general elections of the 10th and 11th parliament under a caretaker government, excluding the participation of retired chief justice.
Justice Khairul Haque, however, in the full text of the verdict delivered after his retirement on September 16, 2012, dropped this observation for holding two more national elections under the caretaker system.
The review petition comes after a Supreme Court lawyer, Abdul Mannan Khan, had challenged the 13th amendment in 1999 through a public interest litigation writ petition, which the High Court dismissed on August 4, 2004. Mannan appealed to the Appellate Division in 2005.
The five citizens sought permission to file the review petition as they were not parties to the original writ petition or the subsequent appeal.
They argued that the 2011 judgement severely impacted their democratic and constitutional rights, leading to three flawed elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024, depriving citizens of their right to free and fair elections.
鈥楾his review petition is being filed in the public interest to uphold the constitution,鈥� the application reads.
Dr. Kamal Hossain & Associates partners Sharif Bhuiyan and Tanim Hussain Shawon represented the five petitioners.