Overview
- A unanimous seven-judge Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed ruled that the 2011 abolition of the caretaker model was legally flawed.
- The restored mechanism will not govern the upcoming 13th parliamentary election, which will be conducted by the interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus.
- The court said the caretaker arrangement will take effect from the 14th national election, reviving the 90-day, non-party system introduced by the 13th Amendment in 1996.
- Legal practitioners noted the Constitution requires forming a caretaker within 15 days of parliament’s dissolution, a deadline long passed, preventing immediate activation.
- The decision arrives as the political climate remains tense following Sheikh Hasina’s 2024 ouster and her recent sentencing by the International Crimes Tribunal.