The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) has requested the Supreme Court to postpone the oath-taking ceremony for its newly appointed members, originally scheduled for Thursday (January 9).
On Wednesday (January 8), the PSC sent a letter to the Registrar General's Office of the Supreme Court, requesting a delay. The letter cited "urgent work related to examinations" as the reason for rescheduling the ceremony.
The government recently appointed six new members to the PSC on January 2. The new appointees include Professor Dr Shahnaz Sarkar, Md Munir Hossain, Brigadier General (Retd) Dr AF Jaglul Ahmed, Dr Md Mizanur Rahman, Sabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, and Professor Dr Syeda Shahina Sobhan.
With these additions, the total number of PSC members now stands at 14, following two prior appointments in separate phases.
The postponement follows an appeal submitted by Dhaka University students to Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed, urging him to block the swearing-in of three of the new members: Dr Syeda Shahina Sobhan, Brigadier General (Retd) Dr AF Jaglul Ahmed, and Dr Md Mizanur Rahman.
In their petition, submitted through the Supreme Court Registrar General, students Jalal Ahmed and Al Amin Mira accused the three appointees of being "accomplices to fascism" and claimed they were close associates of the recently ousted Awami League government. They alleged that the appointments tarnish the PSC's legacy and spirit of impartiality.
The petition read: "Reports in various media have raised specific allegations against these individuals. Their scheduled oath-taking threatens the long-standing tradition of the PSC and undermines the spirit of mass uprisings. We respectfully urge the Honorable Chief Justice to intervene and prevent these three members from taking their oath."
The PSC's decision to delay the ceremony has yet to confirm whether it was directly influenced by the petition.