The Appellate Division on Thursday ordered the reinstatement of candidates who were disqualified in a controversial second round of interviews for the 27th Bangladesh Civil Service recruitment process in 2005, conducted under the army-backed caretaker government.
A five-member bench led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the verdict, overturning its previous ruling issued on November 11, 2009.
The November 11, 2009 decision had rejected a High Court order instructing the government to appoint candidates who had challenged their disqualification through writ petitions.
The dispute dated back to 2007 when the caretaker government had cancelled the initial viva voce results 鈥� conducted at the end of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 tenure in 2006 鈥� and ordered a second round of interviews, citing alleged irregularities.
More than 3,000 candidates had initially passed, but 1,137 were disqualified following the second round of interviews in 2008.
In 2008, affected candidates challenged the decision, prompting the High Court to declare the second round of interviews illegal and directed the reinstatement of the original qualifiers within two months.
However, in 2010, the Appellate Division overturned the High Court ruling, siding with the Bangladesh Public Service Commission鈥檚 decision to hold the second round of interviews.
The Appellate Division observed that the PSC has jurisdiction of conducting the second round of interviews.
A fresh review petition was filed in November 2024 by Sohel Rana and 261 other affected candidates, following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
The Appellate Division agreed to review whether the government鈥檚 appeal in 2010 had been resolved without allowing leave to appeal.
With this latest ruling, the apex court has reinstated the High Court鈥檚 March 16, 2010, verdict, delivered by now-retired Justice Miftah Uddin Chowdhury, declaring the disqualification unlawful.
The High Court had previously observed that while the second round of interviews was illegal, those who were appointed following that process should not suffer consequences.
It ruled that the individuals who are already in the civil service would retain their positions, with seniority to be determined according to law.
Senior lawyer Salahuddin Dolon who represented most of the candidates told 抖阴精品 that the Appellate Division verdict would apply only to those who contested the case.聽聽
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir who, among others, represented the disqualified candidates, stated that the ruling brought an 18-year-long legal battle to an end. Out of total 1,137 candidates, three of them died during the legal battle, said the candidates鈥� another lawyer Tofael Ahmed.
鈥楾he reasons for overturning the previous Appellate Division verdict will be detailed in the full text of the judgment, which will be released later,鈥� said state counsel and additional attorney general Aneek R Haque.
He said, 鈥楢lthough we have lost the case, we accept the Appellate Division鈥檚 decision, as there is no further scope for review.鈥�