HC asks PSC to include 280 indigenous candidates

The High Court today directed the Public Service Commission (PSC) to republish the 34^th BCS preliminary results including the 280 indigenous candidates who were excluded from the revised results.

The HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed came up with the verdict after hearing a writ petition filed by 59 indigenous candidates challenging the legality of PSC’s decision to exclude their names from the revised results.

The PSC on July 8 last year first published the result of 34^th BCS preliminary test in which 12,033 including 280 indigenous candidates passed.

However, due to student movements regarding quota system in BCS examination, the PSC on July 14 published a revised result in which 46,250 candidates passed but names of 280 indigenous candidates were excluded from the revised result.

The HC on July 31 last year issued a rule upon the PSC to explain why the exclusion of the names of 280 indigenous candidates from the revised results would not be declared illegal.

But the PSC did not make any reply to the court.

After holding hearing on the rule, the HC today passed the direction to publish the result including the 280 indigenous candidates.

Writ petitioners’ counsel Jyotirmoy Barua told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for PSC to publish the 34^th BCS preliminary results including 280 indigenous candidates and to go ahead with the next procedure following the HC verdict.