Article 58B The caretaker government and its executive power
The Non-Party Care-taker Government
It is designed to take the governing party out of control of the state machinery during elections, which bears directly on public confidence in results and on political stability for businesses and investors.
Omitted by section 21 of the Fifteenth Amendment 2011. Revived by the Appellate Division on 20 November 2025 (Thirteenth Amendment review) to operate only prospectively, and the High Court Division's 17 December 2024 ruling voiding section 21 was upheld on 9 July 2026, as reported. bdlaws still shows the chapter as omitted.
Parliament's term ends or it is dissolved early. Under the revived provisions, the Prime Minister and cabinet carry on only until a Chief Adviser is appointed, which must happen within fifteen days under Article 58C(2).
The Non-Party Care-taker Government comes into existence on the day the Chief Adviser enters upon office. It is collectively responsible to the President, because there is no sitting Parliament to which it could answer during the election period.
Executive power is exercised by or on the authority of the Chief Adviser, on the advice of the caretaker government, but subject to Article 58D(1): it handles routine business and avoids policy decisions unless necessary.
The caretaker government's central job is to help the Election Commission hold the general election peacefully, fairly and impartially. The election itself must be held within ninety days of dissolution under the 1996 version of Article 123(3).
The caretaker period ends on the date a new Prime Minister enters upon office after the new Parliament is constituted. The caretaker government then stands dissolved under Article 58C(12), and ordinary cabinet government under Chapter II resumes.
In plain English
How Article 58B works
Article 58B creates the Non-Party Care-taker Government, a temporary neutral government that runs the country during a general election. It exists from the day its Chief Adviser takes office after Parliament is dissolved or its term expires, until a new Prime Minister takes office after the election. The caretaker government is answerable to the President rather than to Parliament, since there is no sitting Parliament. Executive power during this period is exercised by or on the authority of the Chief Adviser, on the advice of the caretaker government as a whole, and only within the limits of Article 58D(1). The rules on orders in the President's name continue to apply.
In practice
Caretaker governments under this chapter oversaw the elections of 1996, 2001 and 2008. The Appellate Division declared the Thirteenth Amendment prospectively void in 2011, and Parliament omitted the chapter the same year. On 20 November 2025 the Appellate Division set aside the 2011 judgment and held that Chapter IIA stood revived, but only prospectively: it can first be invoked when the Parliament elected in February 2026 is dissolved. On 9 July 2026 the Appellate Division upheld the High Court ruling voiding the Fifteenth Amendment's abolition of the system, and the Law Minister said the next election would be held under a caretaker government. The full judgment, published on the Supreme Court website in March 2026, applies the appointment sequence in Article 58C as enacted in 1996. Parliament may still amend it under Article 142.
The text
What Article 58B says
58B. The Non-Party Care-taker Government.―(1) There shall be a Non-Party Care-taker Government during the period from the date on which the Chief Adviser of such government enters upon office after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved by reason of expiration of its term till the date on which a new Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of Parliament.
(2) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall be collectively responsible to the President.
(3) The executive power of the Republic shall, during the period mentioned in clause (1), be exercised, subject to the provisions of article 58D(1), in accordance with this Constitution, by or on the authority of the Chief Adviser and shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Non-Party Care-taker Government.
(4) The provisions of article 55(4), (5) and (6) shall (with the necessary adaptations) apply to similar matters during the period mentioned in clause (1).
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 · 2025
Dr Badiul Alam Mojumder and others v Abdul Mannan Khan and others (Civil Appeal Nos. 112 and 113 of 2025)
On 20 November 2025 a unanimous seven-member bench set aside the 2011 judgment and held that Chapter IIA (Articles 58B to 58E) stood revived, operating only prospectively: the caretaker system can first be triggered when the Parliament elected after the impending general election is dissolved.
High Court Division · 2024
Fifteenth Amendment case
On 17 December 2024 a bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury declared sections 20 and 21 of the Fifteenth Amendment Act 2011, which abolished the caretaker system, void as destroying the basic structure, and left remaining issues to Parliament. The Appellate Division dismissed the appeals on 9 July 2026, as reported.
Appellate Division · 2011
Abdul Mannan Khan v Government of Bangladesh (Thirteenth Amendment case)
64 DLR (AD) 169
By majority, on 10 May 2011, the seven-member bench declared the Thirteenth Amendment Act 1996, which created the Non-Party Care-taker Government, prospectively void as contrary to democracy and the basic structure. This judgment was set aside in its entirety on review in November 2025.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
History
Amendments
- Thirteenth Amendment 1996Inserted Chapter IIA, Articles 58B to 58E (section 3 of Act I of 1996).
- Fifteenth Amendment 2011Omitted Chapter IIA (section 21 of Act XIV of 2011). Section 21 was declared void by the High Court Division on 17 December 2024, upheld on appeal on 9 July 2026, as reported.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 58B: frequently asked questions
What is the caretaker government system in Bangladesh?
It is a temporary, non-party government led by a Chief Adviser that runs the country between the dissolution of Parliament and the swearing-in of a new Prime Minister. Its main task is to help the Election Commission hold a free and fair general election.
Has the caretaker government been restored in Bangladesh?
Yes, according to the Appellate Division's judgment of 20 November 2025, which revived Chapter IIA prospectively. In July 2026 the Appellate Division also upheld the High Court ruling voiding its abolition. It can first operate when the current Parliament is dissolved.
Will the next election be held under a caretaker government?
As reported, yes. The Appellate Division held that the system can first be invoked when the Parliament elected in February 2026 is dissolved, and in July 2026 the Law Minister said the next election would be held under a caretaker government.
Sources
- Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Article 58B (Laws of Bangladesh)
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division: Civil Appeal Nos. 112 and 113 of 2025 (judgment of 20 November 2025; full text March 2026)
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division: Thirteenth Amendment judgment (Civil Appeal No. 139 of 2005)
- Prothom Alo English: Caretaker govt reinstated as some provisions scrapped (17 December 2024)
- Prothom Alo English: SC verdict upholds reinstatement of caretaker govt and referendum provisions (9 July 2026)
- The Daily Star: Caretaker government reborn: What challenges lie ahead?
- Prothom Alo English: Next parliamentary election under caretaker govt: Law Minister (9 July 2026)
- The Business Standard: Caretaker system a temporary safeguard for democracy, observes SC in full verdict (15 March 2026)
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.
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