The Supreme Court appellate division today (Feb 11) adjourned for two weeks its hearing on review petitions that challenge the 2011 cancellation of the caretaker government system.

The three-member bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam issued the order this morning.

Following the ouster of the Awami League government in August last year, five prominent figures—including a freedom fighter and two senior politicians from BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami—filed four separate writ petitions challenging the abolition of the caretaker government system.

The caretaker government was introduced in 1996 through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution after the Awami League-led opposition alliance launched a mass movement demanding neutral general elections instead of polls under the then-BNP administration.

After winning the first election under a caretaker government, the Awami League saw three lawyers file a writ in the High Court during its tenure, seeking to abolish the system.

During BNP’s second term in office, five years later, the High Court dismissed the petitions, ruling the caretaker government system legal, though it left room for an appeal against the verdict.

In May 2011, the Appellate Division accepted the appeal and issued a verdict for scrapping the caretaker government system. The then Awami League-led government promptly passed through a law to scrap the system, despite the Chief Justice noting the system should be kept for 10 more years.

The end of the caretaker government system paved the way for the Awami League to rig three consecutive general elections and consolidate power undemocratically for over 15 years.

BDST: 1419 HRS, FEB 11, 2025
MSK/SMS