SC seeks undertaking over BGMEA office relocation

FT ONLINE

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) to give an undertaking saying that it will not file any more time petition over relocating its office from the city’s Hatirjheel area.

The SC will consider their time petition this time once it gets the undertaking in this regard.

A four-member SC bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, took the decision.

Advocate Kamrul Haque Siddiqui and Imtiaz Moinul Islam stood for the BGMEA while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam for the state.

Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court set today (Tuesday) to deliver its order on the time petition filed by the BGMEA.

On March 5 last, BGMEA authorities filed a one-year time petition with the Appellate Division as its seven months’ time given in September in 2017 by the SC for relocating its office building expired in March.

On the day, the BGMEA lost its last legal battle to keep its structure intact on the scenic waterbody as the Appellate Division rejected its plea seeking review of its judgment that upheld an earlier High Court verdict, ordering demolition of the structure.

In 2011, the High Court ordered demolition of the 16-storey building as it was constructed in defiance of relevant laws, calling it a 'cancer' in the lake.

The BGMEA later filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division against the High Court judgment, but the apex court on June 2, 2016, dismissed the plea as well as asked the RMG producers to demolish its headquarters at once and at its own cost.