DHAKA: The Supreme Court asked Grameenphone to inform it how much money out of Tk 12,580 crore dues the company can pay to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) now.
GP lawyers have been ordered to inform the matter to the apex court after taking instruction from their client by October 31 (Thursday).
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by the Chief Justice, on Thursday (October 24) adjourned the hearing.
Senior lawyer AM Amin Uddin and barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas argued for Grameenphone. Lawyers Sharifbhuiyan and Tanim Hossain Shaon assisted them in the court.
Senior lawyer Mahbubey Alam and barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib moved for the BTRC.
Later, barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib told reporters that the court had not yet placed a full order.
Earlier on Oct 20, BTRC) has sought stay order on the High Court's two-month interim injunction on realization of dues about Tk 12,580 crore from Grameenphone.
The appeal was filed in the Appellate Division on Sunday (October 20), said BTRC lawyer Barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib.
Earlier on Oct 17, the High Court issued an ad-interim injunction for two months on the realisation of Tk 12,579.95 crore from Grameenphone by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
The HC bench of Justice AKM Abdul Hakim and Justice Fatima Nazib passed the order and set November 5 for hearing the plea filed by GP.
Earlier on Sept 5, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued separate show-cause notices to Grameenphone and Robi seeking explanation in 30 days as to why their 2G and 3G licences should not be revoked for not paying dues.
The telecom regulator will take steps as per the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act 2001, it added.
Later on Oct 6, Grameenphone and Robi have challenged the legality of the telecom regulator’s show-cause notice on them asking to reply within 30 days why their licences would not be cancelled for their failure to pay Tk 13,446 crore of dues.
The operators said they filed cases in late August challenging the audit claims before the notice was served.
They said the issue is now subjudice, which is why the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission should not have sent out the show-cause notice.
GP has Tk 12,579.95 crore in dues to BTRC and Tk 867.23 crore from Robi.
Earlier on July 4, the BTRC directed to slash Grameenphone’s and Robi’s bandwidth.
BDST: 1705 HRS, OCT 24, 2019
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