Article 142 How the Constitution is amended
Power to amend any provision of the Constitution
This Article decides how easily the rules of government can be rewritten. For citizens and investors it is the main safeguard of constitutional stability and of the rights and institutions the Constitution protects.
The High Court on 17 December 2024 declared void the 2011 provision that removed the referendum requirement from Article 142, reinstating it as introduced by the Twelfth Amendment for Bills amending the Preamble or Article 8, 48, 56 or 142; the Appellate Division dismissed the appeals on 9 July 2026, as reported. bdlaws still shows the 2011 text below.
The government drafts a bill to amend the Constitution. Under Article 142(a)(i) its long title must expressly state that it will amend a provision of the Constitution, otherwise the bill cannot proceed in Parliament at all.
The bill must be passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total number of members of Parliament, not just of those present. With 300 elected seats and 50 reserved seats for women, that means at least 234 votes.
After the 2024 High Court judgment, upheld in July 2026, the referendum requirement restored from the Twelfth Amendment applies again. Bills amending the Preamble and certain key Articles must be put to a national referendum before the President can assent, as reported.
Once the bill is presented, the President must assent within seven days. If the President fails to do so, Article 142(b) deems assent to have been given when the period expires, so the President has no veto over amendments.
Even a properly passed amendment can be challenged. In the Eighth Amendment case of 1989 the Appellate Division held that Parliament cannot use Article 142 to destroy the basic structure, and courts have struck down several amendments on that ground.
In plain English
How Article 142 works
Article 142 sets out how the Constitution can be changed. Any provision may be amended by adding to, altering, substituting or repealing it by an Act of Parliament. The bill's long title must expressly say it amends the Constitution, and it must be passed by at least two-thirds of all Members of Parliament. The President must assent within seven days, or is deemed to have assented. Following court judgments in 2024 and 2026, a referendum is again required before the President assents to Bills amending the Preamble or Article 8, 48, 56 or 142. Courts also hold that amendments cannot destroy the Constitution's basic structure.
In practice
The 2011 Fifteenth Amendment had removed the referendum clause. On 17 December 2024 the High Court declared that change void, and on 9 July 2026 the Appellate Division dismissed the appeals, as reported. As restored, clause (1A) requires that a Bill amending the Preamble, or any provision of Article 8, 48 or 56 or of Article 142 itself, be put to a referendum before the President assents. The July National Charter was put to a referendum with the general election on 12 February 2026 and won about 68% of valid votes, as reported. Ruling party MPs declined to sit as the reform body envisaged by the implementation order of 13 November 2025, and the government has said Charter changes will go through Article 142. A writ challenging the order is pending. No amendment had been enacted by 2026.
The text
What Article 142 says
[142. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Constitution-
(a) any provision thereof may be amended by way of addition, alteration, substitution or repeal by Act of Parliament :
Provided that-
(i) no Bill for such amendment shall be allowed to proceed unless the long title thereof expressly states that it will amend a provision of the Constitution;
(ii) no such Bill shall be presented to the President for assent unless it is passed by the votes of not less than two thirds of the total number of members of Parliament ;
(b) when a Bill passed as aforesaid is presented to the President for his assent he shall, within the period of seven days after the Bill is presented to him assent to the Bill, and if he fails so to do he shall be deemed to have assented to it on the expiration of that period.]
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Landmark cases
How the courts have read it
Appellate Division · 1989
Anwar Hossain Chowdhury v Bangladesh (Eighth Amendment case)
41 DLR (AD) 165; 1989 BLD (Spl) 1
Held that Parliament's power under Article 142 does not extend to destroying the basic structure of the Constitution, and struck down the dispersal of the High Court Division into permanent regional benches.
High Court Division · 2024
Fifteenth Amendment case (writ petitions of Badiul Alam Majumdar and others)
On 17 December 2024 declared void the sections of the Fifteenth Amendment that abolished the caretaker system and the referendum requirement in Article 142, and struck down Articles 7A, 7B and 44(2) as inserted, as reported.
Appellate Division · 2026
Fifteenth Amendment appeals (Badiul Alam Majumdar and others)
On 9 July 2026, as reported, a four-member bench dismissed the appeals, leaving in place the High Court ruling that restored the caretaker and referendum provisions.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
History
Amendments
- Twelfth Amendment 1991Included a requirement that Bills amending the Preamble or Article 8, 48, 56 or 142 be put to a referendum (clause (1A)), as described in the 2024 and 2026 judgments.
- Fifteenth Amendment 2011Substituted Article 142, removing the referendum requirement. The High Court declared this change void on 17 December 2024 and the Appellate Division dismissed the appeals on 9 July 2026, as reported.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 142: frequently asked questions
How is the Constitution of Bangladesh amended?
Under Article 142, by an Act of Parliament whose long title says it amends the Constitution, passed by at least two-thirds of the total number of MPs. The President must assent within seven days. Bills amending the Preamble or Article 8, 48, 56 or 142 also need approval in a referendum.
Is a referendum needed to amend the Constitution of Bangladesh?
For Bills amending the Preamble or Article 8, 48, 56 or 142, yes. The High Court on 17 December 2024 restored the referendum requirement removed in 2011, and the Appellate Division dismissed the appeals on 9 July 2026, as reported. Other amendments need only the two-thirds vote.
Has the July Charter changed the Constitution?
Not yet, as of 2026 reporting. Voters endorsed the Charter in the referendum of 12 February 2026, but no constitutional amendment had been enacted. The government says changes will go through Article 142, and a writ challenging the implementation order is pending.
Sources
- Laws of Bangladesh: Article 142, Power to amend any provision of the Constitution
- Prothom Alo English: HC verdict on the Fifteenth Amendment (17 December 2024)
- Dhaka Tribune: SC clears way for caretaker government provisions (9 July 2026)
- Bonik Barta English: Supreme Court restores caretaker government system (20 November 2025)
- Dhaka Tribune: Gazette of referendum results issued (February 2026)
- ConstitutionNet: A Mandate Deferred, constitutional reform in Bangladesh (15 April 2026)
- The Daily Star: Referendum, one question, 47 consequences
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh: 19 SCOB [2024] HCD 41 (citing Anwar Hossain Chowdhury and the Fifth Amendment case)
- The Business Standard: How ex-president Zillur violated oath and signed caretaker govt abolition bill (quotes the referendum clause in Article 142)
- Prothom Alo English: op-ed on the restored referendum requirement in Article 142
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
Constitutional and writ practice
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