Govt asked to explain why SEC member shouldn't be disqualified
Monday, 13 December 2010
FE Report
The High Court (HC) has asked the government to explain why an order should not be issued to declare an SEC member disqualified for issuing two directives, bypassing the Commission, a lawyer said.
A HC bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Zakir Hossain served Sunday a showcause notice upon the Finance Ministry following a writ petition filed by an investor named Syed Alam.
The petitioner's lawyer Barrister Abul Kalam Azad said the HC issued the rule in line with Section 6(d) of SEC Act 1993.
"The government will have to clear its position why a directive should not be issued asking the Finance Ministry to declare SEC Member Mansur Alam disqualified for continuing his position," Barrister Azad told the FE.
The Section 6(d) of SEC Act 1993 says, a person holding the post of chairman or member will lose his position if he or she has misused the authority vested with.
On December 7, Mansur Alam issued two directives keeping the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the commission in the dark, which accelerated massive fall in the stock market.
The directives barred execution of share buying before en-cashment of cheques and misuse of netting facilities.
The share market experienced a massive jolt the following day that set off angry protests by retail investors in Dhaka and district towns across the country.
And Dhaka Stock Exchange's benchmark DGEN index sank 6.37 per cent or 547 points in the first 80 minutes of trading in a day of extreme volatility that saw the market incur most of the losses in late hours to close at minus 1.56 per cent.
Then thousands of angry investors blamed the SEC saying that its two directives were responsible for the fall in the capital market.
On the same day, SEC Chairman Ziaul Haque Khondker served a show-cause notice upon Alam. The member has to explain his position as to why he issued the order without consulting the Commission or its chairman.
At the same time, the SEC formed a four-member probe committee headed by its Executive Director Farhad Ahmed to find out whether the fall was due to any foul play, or a technical failure, or just normal price correction.
The committee will submit its report by January 10 next.
The High Court (HC) has asked the government to explain why an order should not be issued to declare an SEC member disqualified for issuing two directives, bypassing the Commission, a lawyer said.
A HC bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Zakir Hossain served Sunday a showcause notice upon the Finance Ministry following a writ petition filed by an investor named Syed Alam.
The petitioner's lawyer Barrister Abul Kalam Azad said the HC issued the rule in line with Section 6(d) of SEC Act 1993.
"The government will have to clear its position why a directive should not be issued asking the Finance Ministry to declare SEC Member Mansur Alam disqualified for continuing his position," Barrister Azad told the FE.
The Section 6(d) of SEC Act 1993 says, a person holding the post of chairman or member will lose his position if he or she has misused the authority vested with.
On December 7, Mansur Alam issued two directives keeping the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the commission in the dark, which accelerated massive fall in the stock market.
The directives barred execution of share buying before en-cashment of cheques and misuse of netting facilities.
The share market experienced a massive jolt the following day that set off angry protests by retail investors in Dhaka and district towns across the country.
And Dhaka Stock Exchange's benchmark DGEN index sank 6.37 per cent or 547 points in the first 80 minutes of trading in a day of extreme volatility that saw the market incur most of the losses in late hours to close at minus 1.56 per cent.
Then thousands of angry investors blamed the SEC saying that its two directives were responsible for the fall in the capital market.
On the same day, SEC Chairman Ziaul Haque Khondker served a show-cause notice upon Alam. The member has to explain his position as to why he issued the order without consulting the Commission or its chairman.
At the same time, the SEC formed a four-member probe committee headed by its Executive Director Farhad Ahmed to find out whether the fall was due to any foul play, or a technical failure, or just normal price correction.
The committee will submit its report by January 10 next.