10 arguments have been highlighted in the petition of the BNP Secretary General seeking reconsideration of the decision to cancel the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution to restore the caretaker government system.
The Supreme Court petition was filed on Wednesday on behalf of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. The 807-page review application will be presented to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court next Sunday, said Zainul Abedin, president of Nationalist Lawyers Forum.
On Thursday, he held a press conference at the Shahid Shafiur Rahman Auditorium of the Supreme Court Lawyers Association and highlighted the content of the application.
Zainul Abedin said ten arguments were presented in the review petition, which included- the omission of the summary order publicly announced by the court after the amendment of the constitution and the publication of the judgment 18 months after the retirement of the then Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque was a judicial fraud; A criminal case is also pending on the matter; The fundamental pillars of the Constitution have been destroyed by the ruling to abolish the caretaker government system; Dictatorship is established.
It further states that the Constitution is a living political document. It is not effective if it does not meet the need of time. The Supreme Court’s duty is to interpret the Constitution contextually, not mechanically. Therefore, it is necessary to review this judgment to ensure a free, fair and participatory election environment in the circumstances.
The caretaker government was established on the basis of national consensus. Consequently the Thirteenth Amendment acquired corresponding fundamental status. The Supreme Court cannot declare this fundamental pillar unconstitutional.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ruled on May 10, 2011 that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which introduced the caretaker government system, was invalid. That judgment is appealed for reconsideration (Review).
Advocate Zainul Abedin said that the 2014, 2018 and 2024 parliamentary elections were held under the party government with unprecedented rigging after the abolition of the caretaker government system. As a result, democracy has fallen. Dictatorship is established. Fascism sits on the shoulders of the nation.
He said that the fascist government fell on August 5 in the coup of the students. The former prime minister was forced to resign and flee the country. An interim government was formed based on the opinion of the Supreme Court. People are freed. Second freedom is achieved.
National Assembly elections were held in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008 under caretaker governments. Among them, Awami League formed the government with a two-thirds majority in the December 29, 2008 elections.
Remembering that, this BNP leader said that democracy was ‘institutionalised’.
The then Awami government amended the decision to cancel the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution regarding the caretaker government system before the full verdict was published. The electoral caretaker government system was abolished in Parliament. Later the full judgment was published. The verdict announced in court was different from the verdict published; Which is nothing but judicial fraud.
Secretary General of Nationalist Lawyers Forum Advocate Kaiser Kamal, Senior Vice President of the Forum and President of the Supreme Court Lawyers Association AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Joint Secretary General of the Forum and Secretary of the Supreme Court Lawyers Association. Ruhul Quddus Kajal, Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir, Vice President of the Forum Golam Mohammad Chowdhury Alal, Advocate Tauhidur Rahman were present at this time.
