A bench of Justice Tariq-ul Hakim and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir issued the rule after hearing a writ petition.
The speaker of National Parliament and the secretaries to the cabinet, prime minister’s office, public administration ministry and parliament were asked to respond the rule within the next four weeks.
The Public Service Act was legislated in 2018. Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) sent a legal notice on January 16 this year to seven secretaries concerned seeking cancellation of the section as it is contradictory to the constitution and HC verdict.
Getting no response from the secretaries, the HRPB filed the writ petition on February 9.
During Sunday’s hearing, Lawyer Manzill Murshid argued for HRPB while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta represented the state.
On completion of the hearing, Manzill Murshid said currently the maximum penalty for contempt of court is six-month imprisonment. According to the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1985, a government employee would have been dismissed from his post if he or she was sentenced any term.
But in the current act, an employee will lose his job if he is sentenced a year or more in jail. That means he won’t be dismissed if he becomes convicted on charge of contempt of court.
The section violates the constitution and impedes the implementation of the HC verdict, he added.