Gazette delay leaves candidates in limbo

Rashed Ahmed, a former student of Rajshahi University, was provisionally recommended to become an assistant judge following the final results of the 16th Bangladesh Judicial Service (BJS) exams.

After getting the recommendation, Rashed thought his days of uncertainty and anxiety would finally come to an end, as he would be joining a government job, which would help him finally start providing for his family.

But to his utter dismay, even after nine months of the results being published, he has yet to join the office due to the delay in publishing the official gazette. 

Due to that, a total of 104 candidates have yet to join their positions as assistant judges, despite being provisionally recommended.

Over 37 lakh cases are pending in the country. If the recommended candidates could join their positions sooner, it would help alleviate some of this backlog.

Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission (BJSC), which is responsible for overseeing the appointment of assistant judges, published the recruitment notice for the 16th BJS on February 7 last year.

According to the BJSC website, the preliminary exams were held on March 18, followed by written exams from May 21-31. Oral exams were completed on September 19 and the final results were published on September 24.

Despite the completion of these stages, the final step -- publishing the gazette -- remains pending, causing significant distress among the selected candidates.

"Being recommended for a job and then waiting for nine months is unbearable and truly disheartening. Many people ask me where I have been posted, and it's frustrating not being able to provide them with satisfactory answers," Rashed told this newspaper.

"It has even led me to avoid public gatherings. Some of the recommended candidates didn't even go home for Eid. Those who did, stayed away from social programmes just to avoid answers," he added.

Maruf Rahman, another candidate, said being unable to start their roles, they are missing out on practical experience that could increase their skills and knowledge, which is crucial given the huge number of pending cases that need to be resolved.

AGM Al Masud, deputy secretary of BJSC secretariat, said, "We already did our part a long time ago. However, it sometimes takes a prolonged time for police verification reports and other bureaucratic processes."

Contacted, Md Rezaul Karim, public relations officer of the law ministry, said, "We haven't gotten the police verification files yet. It is contributing to the delay in publishing the gazette."

Citing ministry officials concerned, Rezaul said, "As soon as we get the reports, the gazette notification publication process will proceed."

Over 37 lakh cases are pending in the country -- 16 lakh civil and 21 lakh criminal cases. If the recommended candidates could join their positions sooner, it would help alleviate some of this backlog, said officials concerned.

(Names of the candidates have been changed to protect their identities.)