The Appellate Division has scheduled Tuesday for the next hearing of the appeal against the High Court’s verdict on the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which included changes to 54 provisions, including the abolition of the caretaker government system.
A six-judge bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed issued the order on Monday after the fourth day of hearings. Barrister Shahriar Kabir and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the appellant in court.
Earlier, on December 8, senior lawyer Dr Sharif Bhuiyan had represented the appeal filed by Badiul Alam Majumder, seeking annulment of the entire 15th Amendment. At one point, the chief justice noted that if procedural errors were found, the entire amendment could potentially be struck down at once.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir joined the appeal on December 2.
The High Court, on December 17, 2024, had declared the caretaker government system and several other provisions of the 15th Amendment illegal while restoring the referendum provision in the Constitution.
The verdict emphasized that democracy is part of the basic structure of the Constitution, which develops through free, fair, impartial, and influence-free elections.
The court noted that in the last three parliamentary elections under the party government, the people’s will was not reflected, resulting in the July mass uprising.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury declared Articles 20 and 21 of the 15th Amendment, related to the abolition of the caretaker government system, unconstitutional and void, stating that they undermined the Constitution’s basic structure. Articles 7A, 7B, and 44(2) were also declared unconstitutional.
The court clarified that the 15th Amendment is not repealed in its entirety, leaving the responsibility of deciding on the remaining provisions to the next National Parliament. This includes issues like the recognition of the Father of the Nation and the March 26 speech.
Regarding the referendum, the court reinstated Article 142 of the Twelfth Amendment after declaring Section 47 of the 15th Amendment, which abolished it, invalid.
The High Court’s verdict also detailed the implications of Articles 7A, 7B, and 44(2). Article 7A criminalized attempts to abrogate or suspend the Constitution, while Article 7B barred amendments to fundamental provisions. Article 44(2), related to enforcement of fundamental rights, was also invalidated.
The full 139-page High Court verdict was published on July 8 after being signed by the bench.
On November 3, a “leave to appeal” was filed against the High Court verdict, seeking annulment of the entire 15th Amendment. The appeal, filed by Dr Sharif Bhuiyan on behalf of Badiul Alam Majumder, was later allowed by the Appellate Division on November 13 under Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed.
