The High Court orders appropriate legal action against all kinds of hoarding of essentials as a tide of price rises hits consumers hard.
In its ruling issued Tuesday on a public-interest litigation, the court directed government's home ministry in particular to go for the anti- hoarding action against reported oligopolies.
The court gives the respondents until April 26 to report compliance in respect of their actions for preventing the "illegal syndication" business blamed for making the market unstable by jacking up the prices of essential commodities above the government-fixed rates.
Ministries of commerce and home affairs and Bangladesh Competition Commission have been asked to comply with the direction.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice S M Maniruzzaman passed the orders after hearing the writ petition filed in this regard.
The court also issued a rule upon the relevant government bodies to explain as to "why the failure of the respondents to prevent illegal syndication business by increasing the price of essential commodities more than the government-fixed rates shall not be declared illegal".
It also asks the government bodies to explain as to why the Bangladesh Competition Commission shall not be directed to find out and take appropriate legal action against the perpetrators who are responsible for illegal syndication business and making the market unstable by hiking the prices of essential commodities.
The HC also wants to know in the rule as to why the respondents should not be directed to formulate necessary regulations in compliance with the proviso of section 21(1) of the Competition Act 2012 in order to prevent illegal syndication business.
"And why the respondents shall not be directed to include the provision for Ration Card for selling out essential commodities like rice, wheat, sugar, lentils, onions and edible oils in the OMS (open- market sale) policy," the court also asks.
It also wants to know in the rule as to why the "inaction and failure of the Directorate of the National Consumer Rights Protection in taking remedial measures for protecting the consumers' rights shall not be declared illegal".
Ministries of commerce, home, and Food, Bangladesh Competition Commission, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) have been asked to comply with the rule.
During the hearing the court asked the state lawyer to bring the perpetrators into the perimeter of the law. "When you will act strictly against them, then they will not have the courage," also observes the court.
The writ petition was filed seeking directive upon the relevant bodies of the government to form a monitoring cell and to formulate policies for controlling the price of soybean oil.
Four Supreme Court lawyers -- Monir Hossain, Syed Mohidul Kabir, Mohammad Ullah and Md Rabiul Islam -- filed the writ petition on March 6 seeking HC directives to form a monitoring cell and to formulate policies for controlling the galloping price of soybean oil and other essential commodities in the market.
They submitted the petition as a public-interest litigation based on a published report over the recent price spiral.
The four lawyers on March 3 brought the report to the attention of the High Court bench for its direction over the issue. Then the court asked them to file a writ petition and accordingly the lawyers filed the petition.
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