Grameenphone has got two more weeks to inform the apex court how much money it can pay at present from total Tk 125.80 billion dues as claimed by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
A four-member Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, on Thursday gave the time after hearing a petition filed by the mobile phone operator, reports UNB.
The court fixed November 14 for the next hearing.
Advocate AM Amin Uddin and Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh accompanied by Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury, Sharif Bhuiyan and Tanim Hossain Shaon stood for the Grameenphone while Advocate Mahbubey Alam and Khandakar Reza-e-Rakib represented the BTRC.
Mehedi Hasan said the dues were calculated since 1996 which is illegal. “Of the total amount, 23 per cent is capital while the rest 77 per cent is interest. Besides, Tk 21.90 billion has already been paid.”
On October 24, the apex court wanted to know from GP how much of the amount claimed by BTRC it can repay and asked it to come up with the reply within a week.
On October 17, the High Court imposed a two-month injunction on realisation of Tk 125.80 billion dues from the mobile phone company.
Passing the order, the HC bench of Justice AKM Abdul Hakim and Justice Fatema Najib fixed November 5 for the next hearing.
Later, the BTRC moved the Appellate Division against the HC order.
The BTRC claims dues of Tk 125.80 billion in 27 sectors from GP. Having failed to recover the money, BTRC on April 2 sent a notice to GP threatening to revoke its licence.
Later, GP moved a lower court seeking a temporary injunction on the BTRC’s notice which was turned down on August 28. Later, it filed an appeal with the High Court.
