The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of 82 upazila election officers who were dismissed on September 3, 2007 when the army-backed caretaker government was in power.
In this regard, the court on the day overturned its 2022 verdict that nullified an Administrative Appellate Tribunal鈥檚 2010 ruling which had ordered the restoration of jobs of the 82 upazila election officers.
A five-member bench led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the verdict in response to a review petition filed by Abdul Alim and 84 dismissed election officers.
With this ruling, the Supreme Court resolved a prolonged legal battle over the termination of these officers who were dismissed amid allegations of political bias and alleged manipulation of results.
A total of 324 candidates had qualified for the post of upazila election officer. Of them, 85 were dismissed from their jobs in September 2009 despite completing their two-year probationary period.
The officers were recruited through a selection process conducted by the Dhaka University鈥檚 Institute of Business Administration during a Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government.
Out of the 85 dismissed officers, three passed away while the case remained pending.
The Appellate Division directed the Election Commission to reinstate the 82 upazila election officers immediately, ensuring their seniority and treating their period of absence as 鈥榚xtraordinary leave鈥�.
The court also ordered the Election Commission to provide the families of the three deceased officers with service benefits.
In 2022, the Appellate Division had overturned the Administrative Appellate Tribunal鈥檚 ruling that the cabinet secretary had the authority to challenge the tribunal鈥檚 decision on reinstatement.
However, the Election Commission itself had not filed any appeal against the appellate tribunal鈥檚 decision regarding the recruitment of its employees.
Previously, an administrative tribunal in 2009 had refused to allow the officers to join their jobs again.
With this final verdict, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the officers鈥� rights to reinstatement, closing a contentious chapter in election administration.
On February 20, the Appellate Division reinstated the jobs of candidates who were disqualified in the second round of interviews of the 27th Bangladesh Civil Service under the army-led caretaker government, despite having qualified in the first round of interviews during the BNP-led government in 2006.