The Supreme Court (SC) Appellate Division has published its full 74-page verdict restoring the caretaker government system for overseeing national elections, ruling that the last retired Chief Justice (CJ) will serve as the head of the interim administration.
The verdict, authored by former Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, was published on the Supreme Court's website on Sunday.
The court had originally delivered the ruling on November 20 last year.
The full bench stated that the caretaker government system will take effect from the 14th national election onward. However, lawyers noted that the current parliament retains the authority to amend or modify the provision if it chooses to do so.
BNP lawyer Ruhul Quddus Kajal described the verdict as a milestone not for any single party but for the entire nation. Lawyers commented that former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque had destroyed the country's democracy by abolishing the caretaker system for political gain.
The ruling was delivered by a full seven-member Appellate Division bench led by former Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. The other members were Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, Justice Zubaer Rahman Chowdhury, Justice Md Rezaul Haque, Justice SM Imdadul Haque, Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, and Justice Farah Mahbub.
The non-partisan caretaker government system was originally introduced in 1996 through the 13th Amendment to the constitution during the BNP government's tenure. In 2011, during the Awami League government, the Appellate Division declared the 13th Amendment void, effectively abolishing the system.
After the fall of the Awami League government, a review petition was filed during the interim government period challenging the 2011 verdict. The Supreme Court decided to hear the appeal afresh and subsequently declared the 2011 ruling invalid, reinstating the caretaker government provision.
The restoration of the caretaker system has been a longstanding demand of major political parties, particularly BNP, which argued that its abolition led to unfair elections and 16 years of authoritarian governance.
