96 more appointed from 27th BCS, notification issued

After a long legal battle of almost two decades, the government has appointed 96 more candidates who were denied appointments in the 27th BCS to various cadres. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday (May 13).

The Ministry of Public Administration said that these candidates have been appointed to various cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service based on the recommendations of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission.

Earlier, the government had issued a notification appointing 673 people who were denied appointments in the same BCS on December 18 last year. Another chapter of the legal complications that have been going on for many years has ended with the appointment of 96 more people.

The notification said that the appointees will have to join the designated office of the ministry or department controlling the concerned cadre by May 18. If the person concerned does not join on that date, he will be considered unwilling to join the service and his appointment letter will be considered cancelled.

However, special measures have been put in place to protect the seniority of the appointees. The notification states that the appointment of the first appointees of their batch will be effective from the date of their appointment. As a result, they will maintain their notional seniority, although they will not receive any outstanding financial benefits.

The results of the first oral examination of the 27th BCS were published on January 21, 2007, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government was in power. 3,567 people passed the results.

But on June 30 of the same year, the then military-backed government canceled the results of the first oral examination, alleging irregularities and corruption during the state of emergency. Later, the candidates who passed filed a writ in the High Court challenging the validity of this decision. The High Court upheld the government's decision on July 3, 2008.

Then, the second round of oral examinations was held on July 29, 2007. According to the results published on September 23, 2008, 3229 people passed and were later appointed.

But those who passed the first exam challenged the second oral exam and approached the court again. After a long hearing, on November 11, 2023, a bench of the High Court declared the second oral exam illegal.

Later, the state filed a leave to appeal in the Appellate Division. Later, the candidates who were denied appointments filed a review petition. On November 7 last year, the Appellate Division accepted the review petition for hearing. As a result, the legal battle of the denied appointments gained new momentum.

Finally, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of the jobs of 1,137 people who were denied appointments in the 27th BCS on February 20 last year. Later, in the full verdict, the government was also asked to implement that directive quickly.