Dhaka, Nov 07 (V7N)- The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has set a hearing date of December 4 for the appeal involving 1,137 candidates excluded from the second oral examination of the 27th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) recruitment.

The appeal, led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed and four other justices, was accepted on Thursday. This hearing marks a significant development, coming 14 years after the original High Court ruling, with leave granted at the review stage.

Senior lawyers Salahuddin Dolon and Ruhul Kuddus Kajol are representing the candidates, while Additional Attorney General Aneek Haque is appearing for the state. This hearing will play a decisive role in determining the future of the excluded candidates, as explained by the attorneys.

The issue dates back to 2007 when the Public Service Commission (PSC) canceled the first oral exam of the 27th BCS under the caretaker government’s oversight. Following this, a group of candidates, including Monir Hossain, challenged the cancellation by filing a writ petition in the High Court, which upheld the PSC’s decision on July 3, 2008. This led to a second oral exam being conducted.

Some candidates who failed the second exam, including Md. Sohel Rana, subsequently filed another writ petition, and on November 11, 2009, the High Court deemed the second oral exam invalid. The court directed that those who passed the first oral exam should be appointed based on merit within three months, while retaining those who passed the second exam and were already employed.

The government responded by filing three appeals, and on July 11, 2010, the full bench of the Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s decision to cancel the first oral exam while declaring it valid.

The upcoming December 4 hearing will revisit these decisions to reach a final resolution on the appeals for the 1,137 excluded candidates.

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