HC drops visually impaired candidate’s plea from hearing list

High Court (HC) has refused to direct Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission (BJSC) for allowing a visually impaired candidate a writer during recruitment tests for the post of an assistant judge.

The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader from its hearing list dropped a writ petition filed by visually impaired Sudip Das seeking directives on the BJSC to allow him a writer during the tests.

The preliminary test of the 13th BJSC examinations will be held tomorrow.

The HC bench today passed the order after hearing arguments from Additional Attorney General Murad Reza and the petitioner’s lawyer Advocate Cumar Debul Dey.

During the hearing, Murad Reza opposed the petition saying that there is no law for allowing any candidate a writer during the BJSC examinations.

Besides, Sudip Das will not be qualified in the vision test during medical test as he is visually challenged, he argued.

Cumar Debul Dey argued that the BJSC has issued an admit card to his client Sudip Das so that he can appear for the tests.

The BJSC has not mentioned in the recruitment circular that the visually impaired cannot sit for the tests, he added.   

He prayed to the HC to order BJSC to allow Sudip a writer at the time of tests.

Advocate Debul told The Daily Star that Sudip will go to the examination hall in order to attend the test tomorrow though he may not answer to the questions without a writer. 

Sudip Das, who completed LLB and LLM from Chittagong University, submitted the writ petition to the HC on November 6, saying that he has become a candidate for the post of assistant judge in the forthcoming 13th BJSC examinations, as he wants to serve the nation as a judge.

He said he has already applied to the BJSC on November 5 to allow him a writer, as the preliminary test will be held on Friday.

Sudip, from Pahartali in Chattogram city, said BJSC has not yet responded to his application. Earlier, BJSC verbally refused his applications twice, he added.

In the writ petition, Sudip also challenged the refusals.