Investors bide time for respite as SC verdict on UCBL writ today
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Mohammad Mufazzal
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court delivers today (Wednesday) the long-awaited verdict on the writ petition of United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) with thousands of investors, in deep trouble for years, looking to the court, a lawyer of the plaintiffs said.
A full bench of the Appellate Division started hearing on the writ petition Monday and completed it the next day Tuesday.
After completion of the hearing, Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim said the verdict would be delivered Wednesday (today).
However, Barrister Shafiqur Rahman, a lawyer of the plaintiffs, expressed his optimism that the earlier verdict of the High Court would remain unaffected by the final judgment.
"As far as I can guess based on our submissions and the overall hearing, the investors now will get rid of their sufferings. That means the verdict of the High Court might be upheld," Barrister Shafiqur Rahman told the FE.
General investors are very happy that the hearing has been completed and the verdict will pave the way for getting back the money they invested.
"We were the losers year after year by paying interest on our investment in shares of UCBL. Now we are happy that the verdict will put an end to our sufferings," Kamran Ahmed, a general investor of the UCBL, said.
Since March 2009, the writ petition had been included in the SC cause list several times for hearing. But every time to the utter frustration of the investors the hearing could not be completed due to some unavoidable reasons including the petitioner's reluctance, the investors said.
Though two consecutive Chief Justices of the Supreme Court had gone on retirement during the time, the hearing remained hanging in the balance.
The affected investors demonstrated several times at the bank's head office. In the latest of the incidents, the agitated investors even ransacked the office.
The situation took a turn for the worse, when the UCBL board in line with a court direction had fixed July 30, 2008 as the record date for giving stock dividends-90 per cent for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 and 50 per cent for 2005.
Following the announcement, a number of investors bought UCBL shares at prices ranging between even Tk 7,000 and Tk 7,999.
Then three shareholders went to court seeking their dividends for the years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, the record date for which had earlier been deferred by the bank.
Subsequently, on an injunction of the Appellate Division the UCBL suspended the record date in August 2009.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court delivers today (Wednesday) the long-awaited verdict on the writ petition of United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) with thousands of investors, in deep trouble for years, looking to the court, a lawyer of the plaintiffs said.
A full bench of the Appellate Division started hearing on the writ petition Monday and completed it the next day Tuesday.
After completion of the hearing, Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim said the verdict would be delivered Wednesday (today).
However, Barrister Shafiqur Rahman, a lawyer of the plaintiffs, expressed his optimism that the earlier verdict of the High Court would remain unaffected by the final judgment.
"As far as I can guess based on our submissions and the overall hearing, the investors now will get rid of their sufferings. That means the verdict of the High Court might be upheld," Barrister Shafiqur Rahman told the FE.
General investors are very happy that the hearing has been completed and the verdict will pave the way for getting back the money they invested.
"We were the losers year after year by paying interest on our investment in shares of UCBL. Now we are happy that the verdict will put an end to our sufferings," Kamran Ahmed, a general investor of the UCBL, said.
Since March 2009, the writ petition had been included in the SC cause list several times for hearing. But every time to the utter frustration of the investors the hearing could not be completed due to some unavoidable reasons including the petitioner's reluctance, the investors said.
Though two consecutive Chief Justices of the Supreme Court had gone on retirement during the time, the hearing remained hanging in the balance.
The affected investors demonstrated several times at the bank's head office. In the latest of the incidents, the agitated investors even ransacked the office.
The situation took a turn for the worse, when the UCBL board in line with a court direction had fixed July 30, 2008 as the record date for giving stock dividends-90 per cent for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 and 50 per cent for 2005.
Following the announcement, a number of investors bought UCBL shares at prices ranging between even Tk 7,000 and Tk 7,999.
Then three shareholders went to court seeking their dividends for the years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, the record date for which had earlier been deferred by the bank.
Subsequently, on an injunction of the Appellate Division the UCBL suspended the record date in August 2009.