The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday (Nov 24) ordered mobile phone operator Grameenphone (GP) to pay Taka 2,000 crore to Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) within three months.
A seven-member apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order upholding a High Court injunction on realizing around Taka 12,580 crore due from GP.
“But if the mobile phone operator failed to comply with the order, the High Court injunction will become vacate and any legal procedure can be drawn against it,” GP lawyer Barrister Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury told media.
Earlier on Nov 14, GP had informed the apex court that it is ready to pay Taka 200 crore to BTRC as per a proposal made in a recent meeting with the finance minister and the posts and telecommunications minister.
Advocate AM Aminuddin, Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Barrister Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury took part in the hearing for GP, while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Barrister Khandaker Reza-E-Raquib moved the case for the state.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice AKM Abdul Hakim and Justice Fatema Najib had passed the interim order on Oct 17, allowing an appeal filed by the mobile phone operator against a lower court order.
BTRC on Apr 2 demanded around Taka 12,580 crore from GP as due in different items. The telecom operator later filed a case with the lower court, seeking a temporary injunction on realizing the money.
But the court on Aug 28 scrapped the plea of GP, making it to file the appeal with the High Court.
