Contempt of Court
HC summons food secy, food deptt boss
The High Court yesterday asked the food secretary and director general of the department of food to appear before it on April 26 in connection with a contempt of court rule.
The court issued the order during the hearing of a contempt of court petition.
It directed Food Secretary Borun Dev Mitra and Director General of the Department of Food Ahmed Hossain Khan to appear before it by 10:30am on April 26, as they did not respond to the rule issued by it on February 28.
The HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam came up with the order following the petition filed on February 22 by Md Noor Islam, the district food controller in Netrakona.
The two high officials have to appear before the HC to explain why they did not respond to the rule and why they did not give the relevant benefits to Noor Islam as per an earlier directive of the Administrative Appellate Tribunal, petitioner's counsel Khurshid Alam Khan said.
Khurshid told The Daily Star that the government on November 10, 2004, fined his client (Noor Islam) Tk 23.86 lakh and stopped his promotion and annual increments on charge of corruption while he was district food controller in Nilphamari between August 5, 1992 and October 10, 1994.
The Administrative Tribunal on June 29, 2009, in a verdict declared the government's action against Noor Islam illegal and also directed the authorities to restore his all positions with the attending benefits immediately, he said.
The Administrative Appellate Tribunal on October 10 last year also upheld the Administrative Tribunal's directive, he said, adding that the food secretary and DG of the department of food have not taken any initiative to comply with the tribunal's verdict.
Following the contempt of court petition, the HC on February 28 issued the rule asking the food secretary and DG of the department of food to explain in a week why they should not be punished for committing contempt of court by not complying with a verdict of the tribunal, he said.
The officials have not even responded to contempt of court rule till date, he added.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments