Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh inserted "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful" at the beginning of the constitution and validated all laws made by military rulers following the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état. It was passed in 1979 under a parliament led by President Ziaur Rahman. The amendment fundamentally altered the nature of the constitution of Bangladesh. The amendment was declared illegal in a verdict of the Supreme Court in 2010. The Fifteen Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh, passed in 2011, restored secularism. Background. President  Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed in the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état and his government replaced by a military one. The second parliament was formed in 1979 led by President General Ziaur Rahman which passed the 5th amendment. After the coup, the new president, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, removed Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunal) Order 1972 which allowed for the trial of war criminals from Bangladesh Liberation war. Later President Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem removed the provision that banned religion based politics. President Ziaur Rahman removed the ban on convicted war criminals becoming voters and becoming members of parliament. The  coup regimes lasted from 15 August 1975 to 6 April 1979 during which the country was under martial law. The amendment was passed on 9 April 1979. History. After the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état Moon Cinema Hall in old Dhaka was nationalised and handed over to the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust. The holding company of moon cinema filled court case, which became known as the "Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd. v. Government of Bangladesh" in which the 5th amendment would be declared illegal. On 29 August 2005, Bangladesh High Court declared the 5th amendment illegal on the Bangladesh  Italian Marble Works Ltd. v. Government of Bangladesh case. This verdict was upheld by Bangladesh Supreme Court with some exceptions on 2 February 2010. Moudud Ahmed, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, told the court the 5th amendment was necessary and that it had been accepted by everyone. On 18 December 2019, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust handed 1 billion taka to the owner of moon cinema, Maqsudul Alam, as compensation for the nationalisation of his company.