HC stays operation of DGHS circular for three months

The High Court on Wednesday stayed for three months the operation of a circular of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to recruit in the 143 posts of a project under the 4th Health Nutrition and Population Sector Program (HNPSP).

The High Court bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice Mohammad Ali passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by two candidates, who failed to apply in the desired posts of the circular due to complicated online application procedure.

The court also issued a rule upon the respondents to explain in four weeks as to why the arbitrary and online application procedure pursuant to the recruitment circular published on August 18, 2019, in a Bengali daily depriving the petitioners from applying for the posts of Medical Officer (Unani) and Registrar (Unani) respectively excluding the name of Hamdard University from the online system should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries of Health and Health Services Division of the ministry of Health, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services, Chairman of UGC, Line Director of Alternative Medical Care (AMC) of DGHS and Chairman and Registrar of Bangladesh Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicine have to comply with the rule.

Barrister ABM Altaf Hossain appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners while Deputy Attorney General Pratikar Chakma stood for the state.

Dr Abdullah Al Mamun and Dr Mahammad Younus, duo is the Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BMUS) from Hamdard University, filed the writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of online application procedure excluding the name of Hardard University from the online system.

Barrister ABM Altaf Hossain said, "Though the petitioners are qualified persons for some of the circulated posts they failed to apply due to complicated online application procedure. This is discriminatory to the graduates of Hamdard University."

Citing from the petition, the lawyer also said, "The Directorate General of Health Services published a circular in a Bengali daily on August 18, 2019 seeking application through online process for the 143 posts of 18 categories of a project.

But in the online process they excluded the name of Hamdrard University. That is why the graduates of the university are failing to apply through the process though they are qualified. In this circumstance two graduates filed the writ petition."