Student unions from four public universities—Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Jahangirnagar universities—on Tuesday voiced concern over the exclusion of 13 candidates from the final gazette of the 17th Bangladesh Judicial Service.
They alleged that the aspiring candidates were removed through police verification without any stated reason.
The Dhaka University Central Student Union, Rajshahi University Central Student Union, Chittagong University Central Student Union and Jahangirnagar University Central Student Union issued a joint statement on Tuesday regarding the matter.
Citing documents, the unions said that 102 candidates had been recommended by the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission after clearing a competitive, merit-based examination process.
Among those dropped are graduates of Dhaka University, Rajshahi University, Chittagong University, Jagannath University, Barishal University, Islamic University in Kushtia, and Gopalganj University of Science and Technology.
The unions said that the excluded candidates had demonstrated merit through long preparation and rigorous examinations and should be gazetted unless there was proven evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
They called the move inconsistent with constitutional principles and good governance.
The statement alleged that even after the July mass uprising, meritorious students continued to face disqualification in police verification because of their families’ political backgrounds, despite passing all stages of public recruitment exams such as Bangladesh Judicial Service and Bangladesh Civil Service.
Such practices, it said, contradicted the constitution, a neutral civil administration and the foundations of good governance.
The unions urged the law ministry, the Judicial Service Commission, and the interim government to publish a corrected gazette if there was no evidence of criminal charges against the 13 candidates.
They also demanded that merit and qualifications be set as the sole criteria for all public recruitment, and that unnecessary harassment in the name of police verification be stopped.
If a candidate was to be excluded, authorities should must specific reasons, allow the affected individuals to respond to allegations, and restore their inclusion swiftly if the explanations were satisfactory, the student unions said.
