Abid Loses Job for Listing Rented House as Permanent Address

Abid, who had been working for only seven months, was suddenly handed a termination letter stating that he no longer had a job. His “offence” was listing a rented house as his permanent address. The incident occurred at the Feni Rural Electrification Association, involving Assistant Junior Engineer Mahtab Abid Ressani.

Even though he did not have a permanent residence, he should have been eligible for employment. Mistakes should not become barriers to jobs—this is a message often echoed by courts and social reformers, yet it did not help Abid. He lost his job at a time when his wife is eight months pregnant.

Following his parents’ divorce nearly twenty years ago, Abid has been living with his mother in a rented house in Pallabi, Mirpur, Dhaka. He grew up there. His father never maintained contact. His mother struggled alone and ensured his education. She is the only constant support in his life. The address of that rented house was used in his citizenship certificate issued by the local ward councillor, which was later used for his National Identity Card (NID), where the same rented address was listed as his permanent address.

Abid was appointed on 6 October last year and joined 13 days later. Police verification, which was supposed to be completed before recruitment, happened in reverse order—after he had already joined the job. During the verification, discrepancies regarding his permanent address were found. The issue was then taken up by the Human Resources Department of the Rural Electrification Board (REB). He was ultimately dismissed by the Feni Rural Electrification Association on 8 June.

Assistant Junior Engineer Mahtab Abid Ressani
Public administration expert Firoz Mia has said he cannot accept the dismissal and has called for an investigation into the authority that cancelled the appointment. In his view, the rule is that police verification is conducted before issuing an appointment letter. He argues that cancelling a job after an employee has already joined on the basis of police verification is illegal. He further states that even if discrepancies in permanent address were found during pre-recruitment police verification, there is no legal provision to dismiss someone on that ground. He also notes that a person may change their permanent address if they wish, and those who take such actions can face legal consequences from the affected individual.

According to this public administration expert, “Every citizen has a constitutional right to reside permanently anywhere in the country. There is no rule anywhere that says a person cannot live in a rented house. If that were the case, what would happen to those who are homeless or mobile? What matters is proof of permanent residence. If a Union Parishad chairman or a municipal or city corporation councillor certifies that a person is a permanent resident of a particular area, then no one has the authority to reject it. Lack of ownership of a house or land cannot be a criterion for determining permanent residency.”

Feni Rural Electrification Association’s Senior General Manager, Muhammad Nurul Hossain, told Agamir Somoy that police verification did not match Mahtab’s permanent address, which was a violation of recruitment conditions. After informing the Rural Electrification Board (REB), he was dismissed based on their decision.

High Court ruling

The High Court has previously held in a verdict that a candidate cannot be deprived of employment solely due to discrepancies or changes in permanent address.

In 2021, eight individuals faced such complications. They had passed the preliminary written test for the post of Assistant Agriculture Officer and also cleared the oral and medical examinations. However, due to issues in police verification reports regarding their addresses, the Department of Agricultural Extension excluded them and appointed 1,650 other candidates instead. The eight candidates then filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the legality of the non-appointment.

On 24 October 2022, a bench comprising Justice Kashefa Hossain and Justice Kazi Zinat Haque disposed of the rule and directed the Department of Agricultural Extension to appoint the petitioners within 30 days of receiving the judgment copy.

The court stated that, apart from other issues, a person cannot be denied a statutory appointment merely due to an inconsistency in their address. In its observation, the court noted that expecting a person to always reside at the same address is unrealistic and a flawed notion. A person’s residential or permanent address may change at any time for various reasons.

At that time, police reports on most of the petitioners stated that they were found living in rented houses and could not be located at the addresses provided in their job applications. The court observed that living in a rented house or with relatives is not unusual. Due to financial or circumstantial reasons, anyone’s permanent address may change.

Therefore, the court’s view was that a person cannot be denied employment in a statutory post solely because of a change in permanent address.

When asked about the ruling, Feni Rural Electrification Association Senior General Manager Muhammad Nurul Hossain said that the matter of the High Court was not within his knowledge. He added that the action was taken according to organisational policy based on REB’s decision, and the affected individual may seek legal recourse if he wishes.

According to the Birth and Death Registration Rules, “Permanent residence means the place where a person has been residing for at least three years, or where a person has taken residence at any time due to river erosion or other reasons after losing their previous permanent address, or where a person resides for any period after purchasing immovable property.”

Mahtab Abid Ressani told Agamir Somoy that he has been using the same address since 2011. He enrolled in Grade Four at Progoti High School in Mirpur 11 and completed his SSC from there. He later completed his Diploma in Engineering from Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. Although his birthplace is Chandpur, he has not returned there following his parents’ separation. His National ID card, issued on 25 September 2023, lists the Pallabi area of Mirpur as his address. A citizenship certificate issued by the Dhaka North City Corporation also records the same address.

Realising potential complications in police verification, Mahtab applied to Feni Rural Electrification Association on 23 February to correct his permanent address. Receiving no response, he submitted another application to REB on 12 March.

In his application, he stated that he is a voter in Dhaka and that the local ward councillor issued his citizenship certificate, which lists Pallabi as his permanent address. He explained that due to his parents’ separation, he was unaware that he was required to list his paternal home as his permanent address. He also clarified that there was no intention of personal gain, quota advantage (though no district quota applied to his job), or misinformation. As the sole earning member of his family, he appealed for the matter to be considered with humanitarian sensitivity.

Efforts to contact Mohammad Moinul Hasan, Director (Administration) of the REB’s Palli Bidyut Human Resources Department in Dhaka, on Monday were unsuccessful despite multiple attempts.