Article 58C Choosing the Chief Adviser and advisers
Composition of the Non-Party Care-taker Government, appointment of Advisers, etc.
The neutrality of the whole caretaker system depends on who is chosen as Chief Adviser. This ladder of options has been the most contested part of the scheme.
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.
When Parliament is dissolved or its term expires, the President has fifteen days to appoint the Chief Adviser and advisers. During that window the outgoing Prime Minister and cabinet continue in office to avoid a gap in government.
The President must first offer the post to the last retired Chief Justice, then to the one who retired before. If no former Chief Justice is available or willing, the offer moves to the most recently retired Appellate Division judges, in order.
If no retired Appellate Division judge is available or willing, the President, after consulting the major political parties as far as practicable, appoints a qualified citizen. If even that fails, the President assumes the functions of Chief Adviser alongside the presidency.
On the Chief Adviser's advice, the President appoints up to ten advisers. Each must be qualified to be an MP, belong to no political party, agree in writing not to stand in the election and be no older than seventy-two.
In plain English
How Article 58C works
Article 58C sets out who runs the caretaker government and how they are chosen. It has a Chief Adviser and up to ten other advisers, all appointed by the President within fifteen days of Parliament's dissolution. Until then, the outgoing Prime Minister and cabinet stay on. The Chief Adviser is chosen by a fixed order: first the most recently retired Chief Justice, then earlier retired Chief Justices, then recently retired Appellate Division judges. If none is available, the President consults the major parties and picks a qualified citizen; as a last resort, the President takes the role. Advisers must be non-partisan, not standing in the election and not over 72.
In practice
The ladder in clauses (3) to (6) proved contentious in 2006, when the retired Chief Justice next in line declined amid political protests and the President assumed the Chief Adviser's functions himself under clause (6). Critics argued that this tied the judiciary's retirement timetable to party politics. In its judgment of 20 November 2025 the Appellate Division revived the chapter and explained that, because the fifteen-day appointment process in clause (2) is tied to a dissolution, the system can first be invoked when the Parliament elected in February 2026 is dissolved. The full judgment, published on the Supreme Court website in March 2026, applies this appointment sequence as enacted in 1996, although Parliament may still amend it under Article 142.
The text
What Article 58C says
58C. Composition of the Non-Party Care-taker Government, appointment of Adviser, etc.―(1) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall consist of the Chief Adviser at its head and not more than ten other Advisers, all whom shall be appointed by the President.
(2) The Chief Adviser and other Advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the Chief Adviser is appointed, the Prime Minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Parliament was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such.
(3) The President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article:
Provided that if such retired Chief Justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice.
(4) If no retired Chief Justice is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article:
...
(5) If no retired Judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as Advisers under this article.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the President shall assume the functions of the Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Care-taker Government in addition to his own functions under this Constitution.
(7) The President shall appoint Advisers from among the persons who are-
(a) qualified for election as members of Parliament;
(b) not members of any political party or of any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party;
(c) not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of Parliament;
(d) not over seventy-two years of age.
(8) The Advisers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Adviser.
...
(12) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of new Parliament.
Key clauses shown. Omitted text is marked with an ellipsis; read the full text on the official site.
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.
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 58C: frequently asked questions
Who becomes the Chief Adviser of the caretaker government?
Under Article 58C(3), the first choice is the most recently retired Chief Justice, then earlier retired Chief Justices, then the most recently retired Appellate Division judges. If none is available, the President consults major parties and picks a qualified citizen, or finally assumes the role.
How many advisers can a caretaker government have?
Up to ten, besides the Chief Adviser, under Article 58C(1). They are appointed by the President on the Chief Adviser's advice and must be non-partisan, qualified to be MPs, not candidates in the election and not over seventy-two years of age.
Sources
- Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Article 58C (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 Daily Star, Law and Our Rights: analysis of Article 58C and the 2006 Chief Adviser appointment (1 November 2006)
- 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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