That a constitutional amendment can be unconstitutional despite its procedural compliance with the amendment rule is not a new concept in public law. The idea of “unconstitutional constitutional amendment”(UCA) is rather a well-developed, living concept. The idea is premised on the theorising that a constitution comprises certain essential cores and, therefore, an amendment that dismantles one or more of those essentials is unconstitutional. The idea of unconstitutional constitutional amendment is famously known as “the doctrine of basic structure” in South Asia. 1 The Supreme Court of Bangladesh subscribed to the idea in its 1989 decision in Anwar Hossain Chowdhury v Bangladesh (the 8th Amendment Case). 2