The High Court has sought explanations from a writ petitioner and his lawyer for filing another writ petition on the same issue while allegedly concealing information after an earlier writ had been dismissed.
The court asked why the writ petitioner should not be fined Tk50 lakh and his lawyer Tk10 lakh for the alleged concealment of information. It also sought an explanation on why the petitioner should not be punished and why the lawyer’s matter should not be sent to the Bangladesh Bar Council for taking action against him.
Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan confirmed the matter to journalists, saying the court has fixed 25 August for the next hearing. Both parties have been asked to submit written explanations by that date.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir and Justice SM Iftekhar Uddin Mahmud passed the order on Tuesday after hearing the matter.
Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan appeared for the state, while lawyer Anwar Hossain represented the writ petitioner.
Tanim Khan said the High Court asked writ petitioner Md Rafiqul Islam and lawyer Anwar Hossain to explain why they should not be fined Tk50 lakh and Tk10 lakh respectively. The court also directed them to submit written explanations by 25 August.
According to court sources, Md Rafiqul Islam, managing partner of Aman Trading Corporation, filed a writ petition challenging the legality of an order issued by the Money Loan Court on 20 February 2024.
He later filed another writ petition over the legality of the same order. The first writ petition was dismissed by another High Court bench.
During the hearing of the rule issued in the second writ petition, Prime Bank’s lawyer and Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal informed the court on 29 July that a separate writ petition had been filed on the same matter and that relevant information had been concealed.
Following this, the court directed the petitioner and his lawyer to appear before it. The lawyer admitted that he was aware of the earlier writ petition.
