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SC to hear pleas against HC verdict
FROM PAGE 12
in Dhaka’s Bailey Road area, as the chamber judge of the Appellate Division is on service round the clock.
Earlier in the day, Amin Uddin told The Daily Star that he would move an application before the Appellate Division on Sunday for the early hearing on the government’s leave to appeal petition against the HC judgement.
“Considering the importance of the issue, the apex court may hold the hearing on the leave to appeal petition on Sunday or Monday,” he said.
On July 16, the government filed the petition with the SC seeking the scrapping of the HC verdict.
In the petition, the government said it is a policy decision of the government whether to keep the provision of quotas in public service, and the court cannot interfere in this.
On that day, the attorney general told reporters that the Appellate Division is scheduled to hear the leave to appeal petition on August 7.
However, Law Minister Anisul Huq told a press briefing yesterday that the prime minister asked him to take an initiative to hold an early hearing of the quota-related case at the SC.
The minister said he already instructed the attorney general to take an initiative in this regard and the AG would appeal to the SC on Sunday.
Meanwhile, two Dhaka University students yesterday filed a similar leave to appeal petition with the Appellate Division challenging the June 5HC verdict.
Al Sadi Bhuiyan, a student of anthropology and also the president of Dhaka University Journalists Association, and Ahnaf Sayeed Khan, a student of Urdu, submitted the petition through senior lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque.
Following a writ petition, the HC on June 5 declared illegal the circular that cancelled the quota system in government jobs.
The circular, issued by the public administration ministry on October 4, 2018, said that in the case of direct recruitment to the posts of 9th grade (formerly class 1) and 10th to 13th grades (formerly class 2), the appointments should be made based on merit.
The HC in the full text of its judgement, released on July 14, also directed the government to restore and maintain the quotas for freedom fighters’ children, districts, women, physically challenged people, tribes, minor races, and ethnic groups and others, if any, and to publish a notification in this regard as soon as possible, preferably within three months, from the date of receipt of its order.
The court, however, said the government can change, reduce or increase the ratio or percentage of the quotas in public jobs, if necessary, and can fill the vacant posts from the general merit list if any quota in government recruitment is not fulfilled.
Protesting the HC judgment, students staged demonstrations at different educational institutions, including Dhaka University. They took to the streets on July 1, demanding the reinstatement of the 2018 circular.
Students intensified their protests across the country since July 4 as the Appellate Division did not stay the HC verdict following a government petition.
The protesters are holding demonstrations, demanding reforms of the quota system through the formulation of a law.
Amid such a situation, the government and two Dhaka University students moved two petitions before the Appellate “The

Journo killed
FROM PAGE 12
Alauddin Arif, special correspondent of Bangla daily Pratidiner Bangladesh, also suffered injuries from shotgun pellets while MM Sikandar, senior reporter of Green TV, was wounded in the capital’s Rampura, Mohiuddin said.
Jannatur Mohona, staff reporter of Desh TV, and its cameraperson Abdul Khaleq were injured near Karnaphuli Garden City in the capital’s Shantinagar, he added.
Senior Reporter of DBC News Farhana Yasmin Juthi, Special Correspondent of The Business Standard Qutubuddin Muhammad Jashim, and Staff Reporter of Banglavision Forrukh Babu were also injured, according to a press release of the DRU.

HSC, equivalent
FROM PAGE 12
Earlier, all public and private universities had already been declared closed due to the situation surrounding the quota movement.
Additionally, all secondary and higher secondary level educational institutions (schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutions) under the Ministry of Education, polytechnic institutes, and all primary schools in city corporation areas have been declared closed until further notice.
Clashes have been taking place in different parts of the country for several days regarding the protests demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs.