The High Court has ordered the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) to republish the results of the 43rd BCS non-cadre recruitment process, observing that the process lacked transparency.
The order was passed on Thursday by a High Court bench comprising Justice Shashank Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Urmi Rahman.
Following the ruling, lawyer for the petitioners, Barrister Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab, said the court found that the non-cadre recruitment process had not been conducted in accordance with the law.
“The recruitment process was not transparent and was completed in violation of the relevant rules. The court has ordered the authorities to republish the results transparently and publish the merit list within 60 days,” he said.
Earlier, on December 14, 2025, the High Court directed the government to reserve 8,501 non-cadre posts linked to the 43rd BCS. The order came after a writ petition filed by 773 candidates who had passed the BCS examination but were not recommended for cadre positions.
The petition was initially filed on January 29, 2025, by 500 candidates, including Md Maruf Hossain, Md Hasan Sardar and Md Farukul Islam. Later, 273 more candidates joined the petition.
According to the writ, the 43rd BCS circular was published on November 30, 2020. A total of 9,841 candidates passed the written examination. On December 14, 2023, the PSC invited applications from candidates interested in non-cadre positions. Subsequently, 2,163 candidates were recommended for cadre posts and 642 for non-cadre posts.
However, the petitioners alleged that the PSC did not publish a non-cadre merit list, contrary to the provisions of the Non-Cadre Appointment (Special) Rules, 2010 and its 2014 amendment.
The writ argued that under the rules, qualified candidates who were not recommended for cadre positions due to a shortage of vacancies should be appointed to non-cadre posts in order of merit until the publication of the next BCS results. The petitioners claimed the recommendation of 642 candidates without publishing a merit list was unlawful.
The PSC chairman, the secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and other relevant officials were named as respondents in the case.
During the proceedings, the High Court issued a rule asking why the recommendation of 642 candidates to non-cadre posts should not be declared illegal and why all available non-cadre vacancies up to the publication of the 44th BCS results should not be filled from among qualified 43rd BCS candidates.
The petitioners further alleged that although the Ministry of Public Administration instructed the PSC in May 2025 to recommend candidates against 8,501 non-cadre posts, many of those positions were later withdrawn and included in recruitment plans for 44th BCS non-cadre candidates.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court earlier ordered the preservation of the 8,501 posts pending disposal of the rule.
Barrister Pallab said failure to publish the complete non-cadre results before seeking candidates’ preferences was a clear violation of recruitment rules.
“It is the constitutional responsibility of the PSC to complete the recruitment process transparently. Many candidates have already crossed the age limit for government jobs and have been left in uncertainty,” he said.