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The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has filed a revision petition with the High Court challenging the Labour Appellate Tribunal's order that on January 28 stayed the conviction and sentence of Nobel Laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others in a labour law violation case.
The petition was placed before the HC bench, led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder on Sunday. The HC bench accepted the petition and fixed Monday, February 5, for hearing on it, said DIFE lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan.
The lawyer further said an appellate court cannot stay the conviction and sentence delivered by a trial court to any convict under the relevant rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The appellate court can stay the order of fine, he also said.
The Acting Chairman of the Labour Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka, Md Abdul Awal on January 28 this year, accepted the appeal petition filed by Prof Yunus, also the chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three other top officials of the organisation and extended their bail till disposal of the appeal. The court also suspended their conviction given by a labour court in Dhaka.
The Chairman of the Appellate Tribunal also called for all the documents of the verdict announced by the Third Labour Court in Dhaka and fixed March 3 in 2024 for further proceedings in the case.
Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said the petition has been filed challenging the Labour Appellate Tribunal order that stayed till March 3 the labour court verdict that convicted and sentenced Prof Yunus and three others to six months' imprisonment and fined them Tk 30,000 in the case.
In the petition, an order has been sought from the HC so that Prof Yunus and three others cannot go abroad until their appeals are disposed of by the Labour Appellate Tribunal, he said.
The Third Labour Court in Dhaka on January 1 this year sentenced Prof Yunus and three other top officials of Grameen Telecom to six months’ imprisonment in a case filed against them on charge of violating the labour law.
The judge of the Third Labour Court in Dhaka, Sheikh Merina Sultana, delivered the verdict after concluding the trial proceedings of the 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, Directors Nurjahan Begum, and Md Shahjahan. The court has also fined Tk 30,000 to each of the accused.