50th BCS: Writ petition seeks suspension of preliminary exam

A writ petition has been filed seeking the suspension of the 50th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) preliminary examination, scheduled to be held on 30 January.

Four candidates, including Enamul Haque, submitted the petition to the relevant branch of the High Court on Wednesday.

The filing of the writ was confirmed by the petitioners’ lawyer, Nazmus Sakib.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “The writ will be placed for hearing shortly before a High Court bench comprising justice Rajik-al-Jalil and justice Md Anwarul Islam.”

Earlier, on 20 January, Enamul Haque and a group of job seekers had submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), demanding that all examinations scheduled during the election period be postponed to facilitate referendum campaigning.

After receiving no response, the four candidates filed the writ petition today.

According to the prayer of the writ, a rule has been sought asking why the failure or inaction in disposing of the 20 January representation (memorandum) regarding the suspension of the 50th BCS preliminary examination scheduled for 30 January should not be declared unlawful and beyond legal authority.

The petition also sought a stay on the circular issued on 26 November that fixed 30 January as the date of the 50th BCS preliminary examination, pending disposal of the rule.

In addition, the writ requests a directive to reschedule the 50th BCS preliminary examination after the 13th national parliamentary election, which is due to be held on 12 February.

The secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, the chairman, Secretary and Controller of Examinations of the PSC, and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) have been made respondents in the petition.

A total of 290,951 applications have been submitted for the 50th BCS examination. Through this BCS, 2,150 candidates will be recruited across both cadre and non-cadre posts.

Of the 1,755 cadre positions, the highest number, 650, will be recruited into the health cadre. In addition, 200 candidates will be appointed to the administration cadre and 117 to the police cadre. Among the 395 non-cadre posts, 71 are at Grade 9.