Pressure is mounting on the interim government to remove president Md. Sahabuddin. Discussions are going on as to what will be the procedure for his removal. The agitators say that the president has broken his oath, he has no right to hold this position. Discussions are going on everywhere whether the President will resign on his own in the face of the agitation or the government will take the initiative to remove him.
The current constitution does not specifically say anything about the resignation of the President. Article 54 of the Constitution states that if the office of the President becomes vacant or if the President is unable to perform his duties due to absence, illness or any other reason, the Speaker shall perform the duties of the President until the President is elected or the President resumes his duties as the case may be. Article 53 of the Constitution allows the President to be removed for ‘physical or mental incapacity’. However, in that case the Parliament will remove him.
Some legal experts say that now that there is no parliament, the president has no chance to impeach or remove the president in accordance with the constitution. In this case, the interim government may seek the opinion of the Supreme Court.
However, if the President resigns voluntarily or involuntarily, according to Article 54 of the Constitution, the Speaker will perform the duties of the President.
But the speaker of the last parliament has already resigned. So what happens now? In this regard, some of the lawyers say that if the President resigns in view of the demands of the students, he will send the resignation letter according to the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’, and the Chief Adviser will accept it.
When asked, the Supreme Court’s senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim said that the President can be removed as per Article 53 of the Constitution due to physical or mental incapacity. But for that, Parliament will be needed. And if the president is accused of violation of the constitution or misconduct then the parliament can impeach him according to article 52 of the constitution. That would require a written complaint and proposal from a majority of the parliament. Since there is no parliament now, there is no way to remove or impeach the president.
Regarding the resignation, the lawyer said, if the President resigns voluntarily or involuntarily, the Speaker will perform the duties of the President according to Article 54 of the Constitution. It doesn’t matter who he resigns from. The big thing is that with the resignation of the President, the power will go to the Speaker.
The Speaker has also resigned, facing criminal charges. If the president resigns in such a situation, who will be responsible? In this regard, lawyer Ahsanul Karim said, even if the Speaker or Deputy Speaker resigns, according to Article 74(6) of the Constitution, they (resigning Speaker or Deputy Speaker) will be considered to be in office until someone new takes over as Speaker or Deputy Speaker. As a result, even if there is no parliament, even if there is no member of parliament, they have to perform the duties of speaker or deputy speaker.
Is it possible to remove the president?
Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court said, “We have seen the President leave behind the heads of the three forces and say that the former Prime Minister has resigned and he has accepted it. Later we saw the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking the opinion of the Appellate Division regarding the administration of oath to the advisers of the Interim Government under Article 106 of the Constitution. Appellate Division judges, including the former Chief Justice, gave positive advice. After the politics of Bangladesh has gone so far, now he is saying that he does not have the resignation letter of the former prime minister. After his speech, many reactions have started in different parts of the country.
Barrister Kajol said that the post-coup interim government was formed based on the opinion of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court as per Article 106 of the Constitution. After the formation of the Interim Government, the President promulgated the Interim Government Ordinance. The important thing is not to whom the president resigns, the important thing is that he can resign. There is no need to address anyone for this resignation at the moment. The talk is – when there was nothing (Prime Minister, Cabinet, Parliament) but an interim government was formed. This is the Doctrine of Necessity. I think the interim government can also take decisions based on reality and political consensus. Which happened after the fall of Ershad in 1991.
Asked if the chief adviser of the interim government can perform the duties of the president if the president resigns, the former leader of the Supreme Court Bar Association said, “I am forced to say that the constitution is suspended during a state of emergency.” In the current situation, the constitution has not been suspended. It will not be wrong to say that the state is being run closely to the constitution. The government has already constituted the Constitution Reform Commission. Again the Supreme Court is running according to the existing constitution. (Main advice.)
