Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) has cancelled the lifetime appointment of Prof ABM Abdullah as emeritus professor and directed him to return all salaries and allowances he received in the role.

The decision was announced in an office order signed by Registrar Prof Mostafa Kamal on June 24, following the university’s 99th syndicate meeting held on June 13.

According to the order, Prof Abdullah’s appointment was made during the 92nd budget syndicate meeting on June 20, 2024, after an ordinance on appointing emeritus professors was amended based on a proposal raised outside the scheduled agenda.

Authorities later determined the appointment violated existing rules and was therefore invalid.

The university, therefore, has instructed him to return all salaries and allowances drawn since June 20, 2024, to the treasury.

Contacted, Prof Abdullah said the move was “unjust, irrational and baseless.”

He said, “Those who made this decision have done something wrong...there is no logic behind it.”

Prof Abdullah noted that he had practised medicine with honour, mentored generations of doctors, and received 15 awards including the Ekushey Padak and Bangla Academy Award. He mentioned that he authored 10 internationally recognised books published from Delhi.

“I have achieved a lot in my life. It was on the basis of these credentials that I was appointed. It was not done arbitrarily,” he said.

He questioned the legality of the cancellation, arguing that a lifetime appointment could not simply be revoked without proper grounds.

The BMU registrar could not be reached for comment.