SC chamber judge stays HC order

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stayed a High Court (HC) Division order for a week, which had earlier halted the special policy guidelines for offering privileges to loan defaulters.

Chamber Judge Justice Md Nuruzzaman delivered the order after an application filed by the ministry of finance (MoF) seeking the stay on the HC order.

The chamber judge also sent the Finance Ministry's application to a full bench of the appellate division for hearing on July 8.

The Bangladesh Bank guidelines, issued on May 16, allowed defaulted borrowers to reschedule their loans by paying 2.0 per cent down payment for the maximum of 10 years.

The defaulters were also given the opportunity to avail the 'one time exit' facility by clearing all dues within 360 days after getting approval from the banks concerned.

After the guideline was issued, the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition before the HC and on May 21 the court stayed the guideline until June 24.

On June 24, the HC extended its order for two more months.

The guideline for offering facilities to bad borrowers drew strong criticism from economists and bankers who warned of a possible disastrous outcome.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the Finance Ministry, while Advocate Manzill Murshid argued in favour of the petitioner.

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