No Legal Barrier to Publishing BCS Non-Cadre Merit List: High Court

The High Court has ruled that the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) faces no legal obstacle in publishing merit lists for recommendations to non-cadre posts under the BCS examination. The court said publishing the merit list is a mandatory requirement under the relevant regulations.

The full text of the verdict was released on Sunday. The case was filed by several hundred candidates who had passed both the written and viva examinations of the 43rd BCS and challenged certain steps taken by the PSC in the non-cadre recruitment process.

Following hearings, a High Court bench comprising Justice Shashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Urmi Rahman delivered the verdict on June 25.

During the proceedings, the PSC argued that recommendations from a previous BCS examination could not continue once the results of a subsequent BCS were published. However, the court rejected that position.

The ruling stated that the recommendation process can continue under the 2023 regulations and directed the PSC to publish the complete merit list within 60 days.

The court also instructed the authorities to begin the recommendation process promptly after publication of the merit list, taking into account vacancies in government offices as well as candidates’ preferences and merit rankings.