The High Court on Monday directed the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the allegations of question paper leaks in the 46th Bangladesh Civil Service preliminary examination and submit a report within 60 days.
A bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury also issued a rule asking the authorities to explain within four weeks why their failure to cancel the allegedly compromised examination should not be declared illegal.
The orders came in response to a writ petition filed by 24 candidates who appeared in the preliminary exam last month. The petitioners pointed to media reports alleging that the question papers had been leaked.
Lawyer Shah Navila Kashphi represented the 24 petitioners, while deputy attorney general Tanim Khan appeared for the state.
The 46th BCS exam notification was issued on November 30, 2023, and the preliminary examination was held on April 26, 2024.
Results published on May 9 revealed that 10,638 candidates had qualified. However, a private television channel aired a report titled 鈥楤CS Pre-Written and 30 Important Exam Papers Leaked鈥�, claiming question papers for 30 recruitment exams, including cadre and non-cadre positions, had been compromised.
On July 7, CID arrested 17 individuals, including Syed Abed Ali, a former Bangladesh Public Service Commission chauffeur, over allegations of leaking question papers for public service recruitment exams.
Abed Ali, who served as a driver at BPSC from 1997 to 2014, reportedly amassed millions od taka through his involvement in the alleged leaks.
Earlier on July 21, a separate High Court bench rejected a public interest litigation writ petition seeking a judicial inquiry into question paper leaks spanning from the 24th to the 46th BCS exams.
The petition was filed by Murad Bhuiyan, executive director of Sarda Society, a human rights organization, who cited police statements made by Abed Ali alleging leaks over several years.