Merit vs police-intelligence report: verification disparity still remains post July uprising

Despite succeeding in the most competitive merit-based examinations, a substantial number of talented candidates from at least three Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) batches now face uncertainty.

Although the Public Service Commission (PSC) issued final recommendations for the 43rd, 44th and 48th BCS examinations, authorities excluded their names from the final gazette solely on the basis of ‘negative’ police–intelligence reports.

Investigations show that 65 candidates from the 43rd BCS, 11 candidates from the 44th BCS (whom reporters were able to contact) and 21 meritorious medical cadre candidates from the 48th Special BCS were deprived of appointment.

After assuming office on 8 August 2024, the interim government reinstated thousands of candidates from the 28th to 42nd BCS batches who had faced exclusion on political grounds during the previous administration.

However, the recurrence of similar practices in subsequent BCS recruitments during the same period has caused widespread frustration among meritorious candidates.

The case of Shamim Shahriar in the 44th BCS represents an unprecedented story of dashed hopes.

Although the PSC recommended him for the Administration Cadre in the 43rd BCS, he declined the appointment because he aspired to join the Foreign Affairs Cadre.

His father had long dreamed that his son would become a diplomat. Confident in his abilities, Shamim took the risk and secured first place nationwide in the Foreign Affairs Cadre in the 44th BCS examination.

Yet despite this remarkable achievement, authorities halted his appointment in the ‘invisible’ net of a negative police report.

As a result, the once-assured Administration Cadre position now lies beyond his reach.

His father, farmer Hatem Ali, spends his days in silent grief and demands a fair investigation into what he describes as an injustice against his son.

Similarly, the 48th Special BCS (Health) reflects another poignant example in the case of physician Ujjal Mallik. Raised in a poor fisherman’s family in Nagarkanda,

Faridpur, Ujjal grew up watching his father cast fishing nets in waist-deep freezing water during the bitter cold of the month of Magh.

Determined to fulfil his father’s dreams, he overcame financial hardship and completed his MBBS degree at Dhaka Suhrawardy Medical College. He later received a BCS recommendation.

However, when his name failed to appear in the final gazette, his father’s dream of better days turned into despair.

Narayan Mallik has posed a direct question to the state: “What harm has a fisherman done to the country? Even after qualifying on merit, will my son still not secure a job?”

In BCS recruitment, the Ministry of Public Administration typically verifies two separate intelligence reports.

The Police Special Branch (SB) prepares one report, while the National Security Intelligence (NSI) prepares the other.

Authorities base final appointments primarily on these two assessments. Investigations indicate that, in many cases, one agency cleared a candidate while the other issued a negative report.

On condition of anonymity, a candidate from the 43rd BCS stated, “During the previous government, the authorities excluded 13 meritorious candidates from the 17th BJS examination due to police verification. After media reports highlighted the issue, they regained their appointments. We expected that such a barbaric practice would end in the new Bangladesh; yet the same treatment continues in our case.”

BCS Batch  PSC Recommendations excluded from gazette (due to verification complications)          Remarks

43rd BCS    2,163 candidates   65 candidates        Authorities issued three notifications before making the final exclusions.

44th BCS    1,676 candidates   11 contacted victims       The actual number of affected candidates may be higher.

48th BCS    3,263 candidates   21 candidates        All were recommended medical cadre candidates

Among those excluded from the 43rd BCS, the case of Kazi Arifur Rahman, who secured 20th position in the Administration Cadre, stands out as particularly striking.

He had earlier ranked first in the Railway Cadre in the 41st BCS. After joining the Administration Cadre through the 43rd BCS, he was undergoing training at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC).

Nevertheless, authorities removed him from service without providing any specific reason.

The 44th BCS deprived candidates include Shamim Shahriar (First in Foreign Affairs), Rabbi Lelin Ahmed (Administration), Mosiur Rahman, Shariful Alam Suman, Shafiul Islam Sajan, Shantanu Das, Sadman Fahim, Sohana Arefin, Rohan Islam, Samrat Akbar, Khaled Saifullah Ilyas and Sowan Islam Sajib.

The 21 physicians excluded from the 48th BCS are: Ujjal Mallik, Md Pavel Islam, Sirajam Munira, Shuvro Debnath Nilu, Ilhamur Reza Chowdhury, Mushfikur Rahman Bhuiyan, Alvi Farazi, Md Raisul Karim Nishan, Mehedi Hasan, Md Sabbir Ahmed Tushar, Md Suman Ahmed, Saurav Sarkar Dipro, Anindya Kushal Pal, Anupam Bhattacharjya, Nahidur Rahman, Imtiaz Uddin Manik, Ahmed Muntakim Chowdhury, Sadi Bin Shams, Nazmul Haque, AHM Sakharab and Sabiha Afrin.

Experts argue that verifying a candidate’s familial or relatives’ political affiliations in the name of police verification contradicts the principles of a modern democratic and merit-based society.

Articles 28 and 29 of the Constitution guarantee equality of opportunity for citizens; however, this verification process undermines those constitutional rights.

In this regard, Supreme Court lawyer Manzur Al Matin stated, “Denying employment to meritorious students on the basis of familial or political identity directly conflicts with the Constitution, the principles of a neutral administrative system and the fundamental tenets of good governance. The recruitment process must establish merit and competence as the sole criteria.”

The state minister for Public Administration in the new government, Abdul Bari, expressed a note of optimism.

He told Prothom Alo, “I will promptly look into the matter of candidates deprived of appointment. It is our political commitment to ensure that no meritorious individual faces unjust exclusion from public service recruitment. We will comprehensively reform the entire police verification system so that such situations never arise again.”

With a two-thirds majority, the new government has assumed office amid soaring expectations from meritorious candidates.

They believe that this strong mandate will enable the government to rise above so-called ‘confidential reports’ and ensure that merit receives due recognition in public service appointments.