& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

15th Amendment

Many scrapped provisions in charter restored

Shakhawat Liton
A number of nullified changes brought to the constitution by martial law proclamations were restored in the country's supreme charter through the 15th Amendment Act passed in parliament Thursday.
The changes brought by the martial law proclamations were ratified by the 5th amendment to the constitution in 1979 but last year the Supreme Court scrapped the amendment rendering the provisions invalid.
Some of those scrapped provisions—like the one on empowerment of women by ensuring their participation in national life, the president's power to promulgate ordinances after dissolution of a parliament, and placement of international treaties with foreign countries in the House—were restored through Thursday's amendment.
The reintroduced provisions also include removing restrictions for retired or removed Supreme Court
judges to hold any office of profit or practice law at courts, enactment of law prescribing qualifications for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, and the president's mandatory consultation with the Supreme Court to control and discipline subordinate courts.
Brought into effect by martial law proclamations, two other changes--introduction of Supreme Judicial Council to remove
Supreme Court judges and identification of citizenship as Bangladeshi—were condoned by the Appellate Division in the 5th amendment verdict. However, the apex court had set the clock ticking and said the condonation will remain effective till December 31,2012.
These two changes got parliament's approval and become a part of the constitution on Thursday.
The latest amendment also made the Arabic phrase
"Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim" part of the constitution by inserting its translation along with it "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful/ In the name of the Creator, the Merciful".
Military ruler Ziaur Rahman through martial law proclamation inserted the Arabic phrase "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim" above the preamble of the constitution.
Citing that the Arabic
phrase was not a part of the constitution as the country's charter begins with the preamble, the Supreme Court in the 5th amendment case did not deal with it. But Thursday's amendment made it part of the constitution.
In fact, parliament brought changes to the constitution Thursday following recommendations made by the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendment.
The special committee, led by Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, deputy leader of the House, prepared the recommendations in consultation with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The cabinet approved all the recommendations. The law ministry transformed them into the constitutional amendment bill and placed it in the House on June 25.
Asked about the rationale behind restoration of the changes scrapped by the Supreme Court, Suranjit Sengupta, who was co-chair of the special committee, said they made the recommendations considering the overall situation.
“The recommendations also prove that we were quite liberal and compromised in some cases particularly in the area of religious issues,” Suranjit told The Daily Star recently. He cited Islam's status as state religion and the Arabic phrase "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim" above the preamble.
About the provision for women empowerment, Suranjit said it was progressive. "But it was inserted in the constitution in a wrong way and to get support of women. We are now doing it
in right way and to establish women's right,” he claimed.
The parliamentary special committee, however, backtracked from recommending restoration of the original article-96 of the 1972 constitution. The 1972 constitution's article-96 empowered parliament to remove Supreme Court judges on grounds of misconduct and physical inability. A source, however, said the committee could not make the recommendation because the premier was against it.
Instead, it proposed retaining the Supreme Judicial Council introduced in the constitution by a martial law proclamation, the source added.
When his attention was drawn to it, Suranjit said, “Article-96 of the 1972 constitution is one of the basic structures of the constitution. It ensured check and balance. So, I personally always favour restoration of the article to its original state. But the committee has decided otherwise.”
During the first martial law regime, between August 15, 1975 and April 9, 1979, many changes were brought to the constitution through martial law proclamations.
Apart from inserting new provisions in the constitution, some provisions of 1972 constitution, which were changed by the 4th amendment act in 1975, were restored to their original state.
For example, the High Court was returned the power to enforce fundamental rights. The 4th amendment to the constitution revoked the High Court's authority to do so.