Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division has ordered the reinstatement of jobs for 1,137 individuals who were deprived of employment in the 27th BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service).
After hearing the appeal, a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed delivered the verdict on Thursday, (February 20 ).
Senior lawyers Barrister Salauddin Dolon and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the petitioners, while Additional Attorney General Barrister Anik Ar Haque represented the state.
The lawyers stated that after a long legal battle, the highest court upheld the High Court’s verdict by granting the appeal. According to the ruling, the 1,137 individuals deprived of employment in the 27th BCS must be appointed within 90 days.
The appeal hearing for the reinstatement of jobs for the 1,137 individuals deprived of employment in the 27th BCS concluded on Wednesday (February 19). The verdict was scheduled on Thursday.
It is noteworthy that the first oral exam of the 27th BCS was canceled by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in 2007, during the caretaker government. Challenging this decision, several candidates, including Monir Hossain, filed a writ petition in the High Court.
After hearing the writ, the High Court declared on July 3, 2008, that the PSC’s decision to cancel the first oral exam was valid.
Following this High Court ruling, the second oral exam was conducted. Some of the unsuccessful candidates from this exam, including Md. Sohel Rana, filed another writ petition in the High Court in 2008.
Later, on November 11, 2009, the High Court bench, led by Justices Miftah Uddin Chowdhury Rumi and AB Siddiqui, declared the second oral exam illegal. The ruling instructed that those passing the first oral exam should be appointed based on merit within three months, and those passing the second exam should be retained in their jobs.
However, after hearing three appeals filed by the government against this High Court ruling, the full Appellate Division bench, led by then Chief Justice Md. Fazlul Karim, delivered a ruling on July 11, 2010. The Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s decision declaring the cancellation of the first oral exam valid.
Additionally, the highest court disposed of the government’s appeal concerning the second oral exam, declaring it illegal.
