Mirza Fakhrul's review petition to reinstate the caretaker government

The Secretary General of BNP, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has submitted a review petition requesting the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that annulled the 13th amendment to the constitution, which established the caretaker government system.

On October 16, lawyers Zainul Abedin and Mohammad Shishir Monir shared this update with reporters.

Shishir Monir noted that on Thursday, senior lawyer Zainul Abedin will hold a press conference in the Supreme Court Bar Hall regarding the review petition.

The 13th amendment, which incorporated the caretaker government system, was passed in Parliament in 1996. In 1998, three lawyers, including Advocate M. Salim Ullah, challenged the amendment's legality in the High Court.

On August 4, 2004, the High Court rejected this challenge and affirmed the legality of the caretaker system. Following that, M. Salim Ullah and others filed another writ in the High Court. After initial hearings, the court issued a rule, and a special bench rendered a verdict on August 4, 2004, allowing direct appeals against its decision.

In 2005, the petitioners appealed this ruling. On May 10, 2011, a seven-judge full bench of the Appellate Division annulled the 13th amendment based on a majority opinion.

In the wake of this decision, the 15th amendment, which abolished the caretaker government system, was passed in Parliament on June 30, 2011, with the corresponding gazette published on July 3, 2011.

Five notable individuals, including Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (Sujon), have now filed a petition seeking a review of the Appellate Division's ruling. The other four signatories are Tofail Ahmed, M. Hafizuddin Khan, Zobairul Haque Bhuiyan, and Zahra Rahman.