SC order on Yunus indictment August 20

The Appellate Division on Thursday fixed August 20 (Sunday) to deliver its order over a petition filed by Nobel Laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus and others against an HC judgment that okayed the charge-framing order of the court concerned against them in a case of violating the labour law.

A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, set the date after concluding hearing on the petition.

Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun argued for Prof Yunus, while Attorney General A M Amin Uddin appeared for the state, and Senior Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the case complainant during the hearing.

On August 13, Prof Yunus filed the petition with the Appellate Division through his lawyer, seeking stay on the High Court's August 8 verdict. On June 6, Sheikh Merina Sultana, Judge of the Third Labour Court in Dhaka, framed charge against Prof Yunus and three others in a case, filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE). The other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Ashraful Hassan and directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

DIFE Inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case with the Labour Court on 9 September 2021.

According to the case documents, a DIFE team conducted inspection in Grameen Telecom and found various violations of labour laws like not regularising its 101 staff, not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, etc.

Besides, 5.0 per cent of the company's dividend was supposed to be paid to the workers' participation fund, which was not paid, as per the case statement. After hearing the case, the Labour Court also summoned the four persons to appear before it on 12 October 2021. Later, the Labour Court granted bail to Prof Yunus in the case on that day.

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