GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH Vs. MD. GAZI SHAFIQUL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition for leave to appeal has been filed by the writ respondents calling in question the judgment and order dated the 12th day of February, 2012 passed by the High Court Division in Writ Petition No. 6406 of 2010 making the Rule absolute.

(2.) The respondents, 7(seven) in number, filed the above mentioned writ petition before the High Court Division challenging the appointment orders dated 22.06.2010 issued by the Director General, Directorate of Food (writ-respondent No. 3) for the posts Food Inspector, Sub-Inspector of Food and Assistant Sub-Inspector of Food to have been issued without lawful authority and were of no legal effect and accordingly, the Rule was issued.

(3.) The case of the writ-petitioners as made out in the writ petition, in short, was that in 2004, writ-respondent No. 4, the Director (Administration), made an advertisement vide Memo No. ckv/msv/1 wbqvM-01/2002(Ask-1)/ 2125 dated 02.09.2004 for appointment in different posts including Food Inspector, Sub-Inspector of Food and Assistant Sub-Inspector of food under the Directorate of Food. The said advertisement was published in The Daily Observer dated 09.09.2004, but no examina-tion was held within the next two years. Then another similar advertisement was made under Memo No. ckv/msv/1 wbqvM-03/2005-629 dated 26.04.2006 and this time, no examination was also held within the next two years. Finally, writ-respondent No. 4 made another advertis-ement vide Memo No. ckv/msv/1 wbqvM-1/2008-714 dated 02.06.2008 which was published in The Daily Jugantor of 8th June, 2008. In the last advertisement, it was mentioned that the candidates, who already applied earlier, need not apply afresh. Writ-petitioner No. 1, Gazi Md. Shafiqul; writ-petitioner No. 2, Md. Anisuzzaman Talukder; writ-petitioner No. 3, Nurani Sultana Afrose and writ-petitioenr No. 5, Md. Abul Kalam Azad applied for the post of Food Inspector in 2004; writ-petitioner No. 4, Md. Jalal Uddin Sarder applied for the same post in 2006; writ-petitioner No. 6, Md. Ferdous Alam applied for the post of Sub-Inspector of Food in 2004 and 2006 respectively; writ-petitioner No. 7, Md. Atiqul Islam applied for the post of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Food in 2008. The respective writ-petitioner had requisite qualifications for the appointment in the respective post during submission of the respective application and all of them applied for the respective post in the quota Children of the Freedom Fighters. The writ-petitioners submitted relevant papers including the freedom fighters certificate of their respective father. All the writ-petitioners sat in the written tests against their respective post held on 24.4.2009 and came out successful in the tests. Accordingly, they got admit cards for their viva voce. The viva voce of the writ-petitioners took place on different dates between 11.11.2009 to 02.10.2010. According to the assumption of the writ-petitioners, they did well in the quota of children of the Freedom fighters and they were expecting to be selected for appointment and posting. After holding a so-called viva voce, writ-respondent No. 3 declared the result and subsequently gave appointment to 965 candidates in the post of Food Inspector, Sub-Inspector of Food and Assistant Sub-Inspector of Food (Inspector =350, Sub-Inspector=196 and Assistant Sub-Inspector=419) by the order dated 22.06.2010. The Ministry of Establishment issued an order vide Memo No. 05.170.022.07. 01.020. 2010-59 dated 16.02.2010 in respect of Freedom Fighter quota. In that order, it has been menti-oned that if the quota of the Freedom Fighters children cannot be filled up, the concerned posts would remain vacant. The whole process of the impugned appointments was questionable. There were various allegations of corruptions and unfair means against the writ-respondents in holding the examinations and declaring the results. The news of irregularities of the writ-respondents was widely reported in many national dailies. Despite that, the writ-respondents did not stop the process of appointment rather they made the impugned appointments most arbitrarily, unfairly and malafide. Age of the Government service of all the writ-petitioners except writ-petitioner No. 7 has already expired. Since the writ-petitioners successfully completed me written examinations and the viva voce, they had legitimate expectations that they would be selected for their respective post in the quota for Children of Freedom Fighters. But due to illegality, arbitrariness and pick and choose policy of the writ-respondents in the appointment process, the writ-petitioners have been dropped out and they have no possibility of getting any Government job since their Government stipulated service age is already over. The writ-respondents did not follow the guideline of the Government vide Memo No. 05.170.022.07.01.020.2010-59 dated 16.02.2010 issued from the Ministry of Establishment in respect of the quota of the Freedom Fighters children and as such, the impugned appointment orders were liable to be declared to have been made without lawful authority and were of no legal effect. According to the Government guideline, the concerned post would remain vacant, if the quota for the Freedom Fighters children is not filled up. The impugned appoi-ntment orders do not reveal as to whether the said quota has been maintained and as such, the same were liable to be declared to have been made without lawful authority and were of no legal effect. The orders were also violative of the fundamental rights of the writ-petitioners guaranteed in articles 27, 31 and 40 of the Constitution.