DHAKA: The Supreme Court directed private mobile phone operator Grameenphone (GP) to pay the rest of Tk 1,000 crore of the dues claimed by BTRC within the next three months.

The six-member Appellate bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order on Monday (Feb 24).

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General Murad Raza appeared for the state while Barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Raqib represented BTRC and Barrister Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury stood for GP.

On Sunday (Feb 23) GP paid Tk 1,000 crore to the telecom regulator as per Supreme Court order.

Officials of Grameenphone, in presence of Head of Regulatory Affairs Hossain Sadat, handed over the pay cheque to the chairman of the BTRC.

On November 24, the Appellate Division asked GP to pay Tk 2,000 crore of the Tk 12,579.95 crore dues claimed by BTRC within three months.

The telecom regulator claimed the dues in 27 sectors from the mobile operator but failed to recover the money. Later, BTRC sent a notice to GP threatening to revoke its licence on April 2 last year.

But the operator moved the court seeking a temporary injunction on the notice which was turned down on August 28 that year. The mobile operator later filed an appeal with the High Court.

The High Court on October 17 imposed a two-month injunction on realisation of dues from GP. The telecom regulator later moved the Appellate Division against the order.

BDST: 1145 HRS, FEB 24, 2020
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