HC fixes Nov 3 for verdict on banking sector commission
The High Court has fixed November 3 to deliver its verdict on the rule issued over the formation of a commission to look into the irregularities and corruption took place in the banking sector in the last two decades.
The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam yesterday fixed the date after concluding a hearing on the rule.
Following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, another HC bench on February 13 this year issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to show causes why they should not be directed to form a commission to investigate the irregularities and corruption in giving out loans and waiving interest in the last two decades.
In the rule, the court asked the respondents to explain why their failure or inaction to stop various irregularities, illegalities and corruption during this period should not be declared illegal.
The rule also asked them to show causes why their failure to recover the loans from the defaulters in the mentioned period should not be declared unlawful.
The respondents are secretaries to the cabinet division and the prime minister’s secretariat, ministries of finance, the financial institutions division, governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the chairmen of the National Board of Revenue and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court ordered the respondents to explain why they should not be directed to stop the irregularities and corruption in sanctioning loans, waiving interests and recovering the loan amount from the defaulters.
During hearing on the rule on June 24, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam submitted a report prepared by Bangladesh Bank to the HC, saying that the amount of the country’s total defaulted loans in the last 20 years is Tk 2.2 lakh crore.
Of the total loans, Tk 1.1 lakh crore is realisable, Tk 80,000 crore requires court orders to be realised as a large number of cases are involved with the amount, and Tk 30,000 crore cannot be realised, the attorney general told the court citing the central bank’s report.
The money was taken by loan defaulters from different banks in the last 20 years using 10,476 different accounts.
During the hearing on the rule, petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid told the court that depositors had lost a huge amount of money due to corruption and irregularities.
ACC’s lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told the court that the government is the authority to decide whether it will form any commission to look into the irregularities in the banking sector.
The ACC cannot be involved in this issue, he argued.
BB’s lawyer Barrister Muniruzzaman opposed the writ petition, saying that giving out loans and waiving interest is the matter policy decision of the government and BB and the HC cannot interfere into this issue.
The government and BB have been taking action against corruption and irregularities in the banking sector. So forming a separate commission in this regard will create inconsistency among different authorities, the lawyer argued.