Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 21) opened final appellate hearings on petitions seeking the restoration of the non-party caretaker government system, with a bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed taking up the matter.

Senior advocate Dr Sharif Bhuiyan began arguments on behalf of five appellants, including civic activist Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar. 

The Appellate Division had earlier granted leave to appeal following hearings on review petitions challenging the 2011 verdict that struck down the 13th Amendment. 

Separate appeals were also filed by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Prof Mia Golam Porwar, both seeking reconsideration of the ruling that abolished the caretaker arrangement. 

The caretaker system was written into the constitution by the 13th Amendment in 1996 and upheld by the High Court in 2004. 

On May 10, 2011, however, the Appellate Division invalidated the amendment by majority, and parliament subsequently passed the 15th Amendment on June 30, 2011, repealing the caretaker provision; the gazette was issued on July 3, 2011. 

The current proceedings follow a series of listings and deferments earlier this year as the court organised hearings on multiple review and appeal applications tied to the caretaker verdict. 

SMS/