Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday released the full text of its verdict ordering the government to implement the public announcement of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on extending the retirement age of journalists from 60 to 65 years at the national news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
The HC bench comprising Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice A K M Shahidul Huq gave the verdict after hearing two writ petitions filed in public interest challenging the government’s negligence in implementing the PM’s announcement on upgrading the retirement age of journalists of BSS.
Prosecutors of the two petitioners confirmed the matter saying the verdict was delivered eight-month ago on April 13 this year. Copy of the 30-page full verdict signed by the tow justices has already been collected, they added.
The HC, in its verdict, asked the government, as per the public deceleration made by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to make amendment to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha Employees Services Regulation to increase the journalists retirement age to 65 years instead of 62 years from 60 years. The order should be implemented within 60 days from the release of the verdict, it added.
The verdict also asked the BSS authorities to count the retirement age of the two petitioners until 65 years although they sent on retirement at the age of 62 under the existing BSS service regulation. The HC also asked the authorities to pay the petitioners’ arrears of salaries and other benefits within two months from the date of receipt of the copy of the verdict.
Six year ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared enhancement of the age limit of the working journalists of BSS from 60 to 65 years during a meeting with editors, senior journalists and journalists union leaders at National Press Club on August 25, 2011.
But confusion was raised among the Ministries of Information, Public Administration, Law and Finance to execute the Prime Minister’s public announcement.
Both the Information and Finance Ministries did not start the implementation process claiming that there was no record of any ‘written evidence of the PM’s public announcement’. On the other hand, the Finance Ministry not following the PM’s public announcement, said it was only rational to increase the BSS journalists’ retiring age limit to 62 years in line with the civil servants’ retirement age.
Following the move of the ministries, BSS service regulation was amended, setting the retirement age at 62 for its journalists ignoring the Prime Minister’s directive.
The verdict reads: “The Finance Ministry acted beyond their allocated business as well as ignored the power and authority of the PM conferred to under the Rules of Business, repelling the existing amendment of BSS service regulation on retirement age”.
The two writ petitioners are journalists Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan (retired Managing Director and Chief Editor of BSS) and Amirul Momenin (retired Chief News Editor-Bangla Service). Both of them are already over 65 years.
Subrata Chowdhury, assisted by Samir Mojumdar, Sarwar Alam, Munira Haque Moni, Sonia Pervin, Rabin Chandra Paul and Bithi Saha, moved for the petitioners while SM Rezaul Karim and Abdur Razzak for BSS and deputy attorney general ASM Nazmul Haque move for the government in the court.
