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The High Court has issued a rule asking why 10 writ petitioners should not be appointed to vacant posts of assistant director at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court also sought to know why the authorities’ inaction in appointing the petitioners to vacant assistant director positions should not be declared unlawful and beyond their legal authority.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman issued the rule on Tuesday, directing the concerned authorities to respond within four weeks.
Barrister Mohammad Humaun Kabir Pallab, lawyer for the petitioners, confirmed the development.
The writ petition was filed on August 9 on behalf of 10 jobseekers, including Dilruba Begum. The ACC chairman and secretary, and the secretaries of the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Finance were named as respondents.
According to the petition, the ACC issued a recruitment circular on November 18, 2019, for assistant director, deputy assistant director and court inspector positions. The petitioners applied for 132 assistant director posts and passed the written and other stages before appearing in the viva voce examination.
The petitioners alleged that the ACC later appointed 130 candidates against 130 advertised posts without publishing the full results. Many of those selected subsequently joined other jobs, leaving a significant number of the advertised positions vacant.
The petitioners argued that a Public Administration Ministry circular provides for filling vacancies created when recommended candidates fail to join by selecting qualified candidates from the waiting list of the same recruitment examination on the basis of merit.
They claimed the ACC followed this procedure for court inspector posts advertised under the same recruitment process but did not apply it to assistant director positions.
The petitioners therefore sought directions for their appointment to the vacant posts, subject to their eligibility, alleging irregularities in the recruitment process.
During the hearing, Pallab argued that violations of established recruitment procedures had infringed the petitioners’ constitutional fundamental rights. He said transparency and fairness in public recruitment were essential to ensuring justice.
He added that the petitioners had sent a legal notice to the respondents on July 29, but received no response, prompting them to file the writ petition before the High Court.
Pallab appeared for the petitioners, assisted by lawyers Maksudur Rahman and Maruf Hasan Tamal. Lawyer Ashraful Islam represented the ACC.