The High Court has issued a rule questioning the legality of the dismissal of 18 engineers and officials from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh Limited (NPCBL), which operates the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project.
Following a primary hearing on a writ petition filed by the dismissed employees, the bench comprising Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Fayez Ahmed issued the rule on Sunday, June 29.
The court has asked the authorities to explain why the termination order should not be declared illegal and why the affected individuals should not be reinstated in their positions with full benefits.
The bench also directed the NPCBL board chairman to promptly resolve a previously submitted appeal seeking withdrawal of the dismissal order.
The petitioners were represented by Supreme Court lawyer SM Mahidul Islam Sajib. According to the writ, a termination order signed on May 8 by NPCBL’s Managing Director stated that the services of the 18 officials were no longer required under the “NPCBL Employment Policy, 2018.”
The engineers subsequently filed a writ petition and submitted a written appeal to the board chairman on May 12.
In their appeal, the petitioners argued that their appointments were made through a proper recruitment process and that they had signed 10-year service bonds upon joining.
After two years of satisfactory performance, they were sent for advanced training at Russia’s Rosatom Technical Academy, where they successfully passed evaluation exams. They were later regularized and promoted within the company.
Challenging the sudden termination, the petitioners stated that the decision was arbitrary, unlawful, and unethical, prompting them to seek judicial intervention. The High Court`s rule now opens the way for further legal scrutiny of NPCBL’s actions.
