30pc posts to go to war heroes' children
The government has taken initiatives to introduce 30 percent quota for the children of freedom fighters in the recruitment rules for assistant judges.
The initiative was taken, as a number of candidates from the families of freedom fighters could not qualify in the examinations for the offices of assistant judges.
When the matter was brought to the notice of the law ministry that there is a rule of 30 percent quota for the children of freedom fighters in the government service the ministry took the decision, sources said.
The government has recently withheld its decision to recruit 101 assistant judges to the lower court through the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission (BJSC), sources said.
The decision came following widespread criticisms from different quarters that children of freedom fighters were being deprived of the jobs of assistant judges, as there was no quota for them in the recruitment rules of the Judicial Service Commission, sources added.
Sources also said some 394 assistant judges had already been appointed and the recruitments of 211 more had been finalised through the commission without taking into consideration the quota for the children of freedom fighters.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed on October 17 told The Daily Star that his office was working out a plan to introduce a quota in the recruitment rules so that the children of freedom fighters could have access to the jobs of assistant judge.
When asked whether the government has to take permission from the Supreme Court (SC) to introduce the quota system he said the government has the jurisdiction to include anything in the recruitment rules.
The minister also said he is hopeful that the government will complete the inclusion of quota system in the rules and also the recruitment of 211 assistant judges to their offices within this month.
A commission official, requesting anonymity, said that there is only 20 percent quota for the woman candidates in the existing recruitment rules of the commission framed by the military-backed caretaker government.
The rules were framed so that the candidates could be appointed on the basis of merit, he said.
The Judicial Service Commission is already carrying out the medical tests of 211 selected candidates and it will submit its recommendations to the government after completing police verifications, sources said.
Sources said only the entry level judicial officials are appointed to the post of assistant judges while the other tiers are filled through promotion and added that about 400 posts of the lower court judges have remained vacant for more than seven years affecting people seeking justice.
The executive magistrates earlier discharging judicial functions were absorbed in the administrative posts after separation of the magistracy through the separation of judiciary from the executive in November 2007, sources added.
Besides, some of the judges either left the jobs or have been transferred to other services on deputation creating vacancies in the judiciary.
Comments