Labour law violation case: Conviction of Porf Yunus and three others remains effective
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The High Court on Monday cleared that conviction issued against Nobel Laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus and three of his colleagues in a labour law violation case will remain effective till the disposal of their appeal.
However, other parts of the Labour Court verdict like sentence, fine and executable direction will remain stayed, according to the HC.
The High Court has declared illegal an order of the Labour Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka that on January 28 suspended conviction and sentence of Prof Yunus and three others in a labour law violation case.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadoth Hossain delivered the verdict after hearing a revision petition filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
In the verdict, the HC said conviction issued against four persons, including Prof Yunus will remain effective till the disposal of their appeal. Their sentenced will remain stayed as long as they (four accused persons) are on bail.
The HC further said that the fine imposed by the Labour Court and the executable direction of the judgment shall remain suspended pending disposal of the appeal.
The Appellate Tribunal has been asked to dispose of the appeal as early as possible. If the accused go abroad, they should inform the concerned court, according to the HC verdict.
The Third Labour Court in Dhaka, on January 1 this year, sentenced Prof Yunus and three other top officials of the Grameen Telecom to six months’ imprisonment in a case filed against them on charge of violating the labour law.
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.
Prof Yunus and three others filed an appeal petition against the verdict on January 28 this year. The Acting Chairman of the Labour Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka Md Abdul Awal admitted the appeal on that day and suspended the total verdict given by the labour court.
In this circumstance, the DIFE filed a revision petition with the High Court challenging the Labour Appellate Tribunal's order in the case. Following the petition, the High Court on February 5 issued a rule.
In the rule, the HC wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why the order passed by the Labour Appellate Tribunal on January 28 suspending the conviction and sentence of Prof Yunus and others should not be scrapped. Upon hearing the rule, the HC bench declared it absolute on Monday.
Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appeared in the court on behalf of the DIFE, while Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun and Barrister Khaja Tanvir Ahmed represented the state.
Lawyer Khurshid Alalm Khan said, “A verdict of a criminal case has two parts--- conviction and sentence. Conviction cannot be suspended and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has given decision regarding the issue.”