Freedom fighter job quota to remain for now
The Appellate Division did not stay the HC verdict cancelling the quota facility and asked state attorneys to file leave to appeal
The quota facility for the children of freedom fighters in the civil service will remain in force for now as the Appellate Division has not stayed the High Court ruling that invalidated the cancellation of this privilege.
On Thursday, the six-judge Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, did not hold a hearing on a government petition against the ruling but asked the state attorneys to file a regular leave to appeal.
The court further stated that the High Court's judgement will remain upheld for the time being.
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Following a movement demanding quota reform, the government published a gazette in 2018 cancelling the 30% quota reserved for the children of freedom fighters in first and second class government jobs.
When Attorney General AM Amin Uddin brought up the ongoing anti-quota movement during the hearing today, the Chief Justice said, "For now, let the judgement of the High Court remain as it is. When the full text of the verdict is published, you file a regular leave to appeal, and then we will listen.
"Let the movement continue. Will the pressure of the movement change the judgement of the High Court, the judgement of the Supreme Court? Will you change the verdict of the High Court by protesting on the streets?"
At that point, the attorney general said, "Leave to appeal cannot be filed until the judgement is published. It will be too late for the verdict to be published. If you [the Appellate Division] could prompt [the High Court] a little, the judgement should be published soon."
Then the Chief Justice said, "Okay, we will tell [the High Court]."
Later, the court stayed away from holding a hearing, saying, "Not today."
On 5 June, the High Court declared the government's decision illegal and restored the quota facility for the children of freedom fighters in the civil service.
On 9 June, the state filed an appeal with the chamber court of the Appellate Division, seeking a stay on the verdict.
The attorney general, while representing the government at the hearing on the day, said, "There are various difficulties due to the return of a 30% quota for the children of freedom fighters in government jobs after the High Court's verdict. Whether or not there will be a quota, it is a policy decision of the government. The court cannot interfere in the policy-making matters of the government."
At the hearing, Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed said the anti-quota movement had begun in various campuses, including Dhaka University, after the High Court's verdict.
Then the chamber court did not pass any order to this end and sent the petition to the regular bench of the Appellate Division for hearing.
Accordingly, when the application came up for hearing on Thursday, advocate-on-record lawyer Zahirul Islam requested a postponement of the hearing as Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, the lawyer for the writ petitioner, was not present.
