Chamber court did not pass stay order on Dr Yunus case

The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division did not pass stay order on an application filed by Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus against the High Court (HC) order that paved the way for the lower court to run the trial proceedings of a case filed against Dr Yunus and three others for allegedly violating labour laws.

Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice M Enayetur Rahim sent the appeal of Dr Yunus to the full bench of the Appellate Division and fixed October 17 for hearing on the appeal.

Earlier on August 17, after final hearing on a petition filed by Dr Yunus, the HC bench of Justice SM Kuddus Zaman and Justice Fahmida Quader discharged the rule issued by it earlier in this regard.

Dr Yunus filed a petition with the chamber judge of the Appellate Division for staying the operation of the HC order. But, the chamber judge did not stay the HC order and sent the matter before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and fixed October 17 for hearing on the matter.

Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun appeared for Dr Yunus while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Factories and Establishments department.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case against Dr Yunus and three others on September 9, 2021 and the court had summoned the four to appear before it by October 12 that year.

The other three accused in the case are: Grameen Telecom Managing Director Ashraful Hasan, Board directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

According to the case documents, a team of DIFE went on an inspection to Grameen Telecom and found the violations of labour laws like not regularising 101 staff and not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, among others.

Following a writ petition, the HC bench had earlier stayed the trial proceedings of the case and issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why the trial proceedings of the case against Muhammad Yunus should not be quashed.

Later, the government moved with the Appellate Division against the High Court order. After hearing on the government appeal, the apex court directed the High Court to dispose of the rule issued by it in this regard within two months. After the final hearing on the rule, the HC bench on August 17 rejected Dr Yunus’s petition.