The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has set November 17 for the hearing of three review petitions concerning the cancellation of the caretaker government system, which was abolished by the 16th amendment to the constitution.

Initially scheduled for Thursday, the hearing was postponed after Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman requested a four-week delay, leading the court to reschedule. The hearing will be conducted by a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed.

Earlier on October 20, the chamber judge of the Appellate Division had set 24 October as the hearing date for two petitions challenging the ruling that abolished the caretaker government system.

The review petitions focus on the cancellation of the caretaker government, which was initially introduced in 1996 through the 13th amendment to oversee impartial national elections.

One petition was filed by Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), in August this year. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir submitted a separate petition on 16 October, followed by Jamaat-e-Islami on 23 October.

The caretaker government system, introduced in 1996, aimed to provide neutral oversight of national elections. However, in 2011, the Appellate Division, under then Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, declared the system unconstitutional and abolished it. 

The court allowed the 10th and 11th general elections to take place under a caretaker government, subject to parliamentary agreement on the appointment of the chief adviser.

Since the system's abolition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have consistently called for its reinstatement, while the ruling Awami League has firmly rejected these demands.

BDST: 1329 HRS, OCT 24, 2024
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