The Appellate Division on Wednesday concluded hearings on the appeal against the High Court verdict that declared several provisions of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution—including the abolition of the caretaker government system—illegal. The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Thursday.
A bench headed by the chief justice fixed the date after the third and final day of hearing.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state, while advocates Mohammad Shishir Monir and Sharif Bhuiyan appeared for the writ petitioner.
Earlier, on December 11, 2025, a six-member Appellate Division bench led by the then chief justice, Syed Refaat Ahmed, deferred the hearing until after the 13th parliamentary election.
Senior lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan, representing writ petitioner Badiul Alam Majumder, argued that the entire 15th Amendment should be scrapped. During the hearing, the then chief justice observed that if procedural flaws were found, the entire amendment could be declared invalid.
On December 2, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir joined the appeal proceedings.
On December 17, 2024, the High Court declared several provisions introduced through the 15th Amendment unconstitutional, including those abolishing the caretaker government system. It also restored the constitutional provision for holding referendums.
The High Court observed that democracy forms part of the Constitution's basic structure and must be upheld through free, fair and credible elections. It said the last three parliamentary elections under party-led governments failed to reflect the people's will and eroded public confidence, ultimately contributing to the July Uprising.
The bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury declared Articles 20 and 21 of the 15th Amendment Act, which abolished the caretaker government system, void for violating the Constitution's basic structure. It also struck down Articles 7A, 7B and 44(2), while leaving the remaining provisions of the amendment for Parliament to consider.
The court further reinstated the referendum provision under Article 142, ruling that its repeal through the 15th Amendment was inconsistent with the Constitution's basic structure.
The full 139-page judgment was published on July 8, after being signed by the two judges.
A leave-to-appeal petition challenging the High Court verdict was filed on November 3 on behalf of Badiul Alam Majumder, seeking to invalidate the entire 15th Amendment. The Appellate Division subsequently granted leave to appeal, leading to the hearings that concluded on Wednesday.