The High Court on Sunday asked the chief controller (export and import) and the chairman of Chittagong Port Authority to inform the court within four weeks on how much soya bean oil had been imported in last six months and what their prices were.
\nThe president and secretary of Vegetable Oil Refiners\u2019 and Vanaspati Manufacturers\u2019 Association\u00a0were asked to inform the court about the detail prices of different brands of soybean oil sold in last six months.
\nThe court also issued a rule on the government to explain in two weeks why its inaction to stop increasing price hike of soya bean oil would not be declared illegal.
\nThe secretaries of the commerce and finance ministries, chairman of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, chief controller of exports and imports, chairman of Chittagong port authority, inspector general of police, director general of Rapid Action Battalion, director general of Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection and the president and secretary of Vegetable Oil Refiners\u2019 and Vanaspati Manufacturers\u2019 Association were asked to reply the rule.
\nThe bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain passed the order after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by six Supreme Court lawyers on behalf of Bangladesh Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, challenging the government\u2019s inaction and failure to check the price hike of the edible oil.
\nThe organisations drew the attention to the court on the report published by daily Prothom Alo on November 24 with the headline \u2018Soybeaner dam barlo ek laphe liter-a 13 taka\u2019\u2014meaning \u2018the price of soybean oil jumps up by Tk 13 at a time\u2019.
\nMoving the writ petition, the petitioners\u2019 counsel Manzill Murshid told the court that a section of dishonest businessmen and traders had raised the price of edible oil by manipulating the market. He also said that the price of the Soybean oil had not been increased legally.
\n\u2018It is the duty of the controller (imports and exports) to protect consumers\u2019 rights, but the authorities had failed to do so,\u2019 the counsel contended.
\nOn November 24, oil millers raised the price of bottled soya bean oil by up to Tk 13 a litre with an immediate effect although the oil price on the international market has remained stable for two weeks.
\nIndustry sources said a number of companies such as the City Group and the Meghna Vegetables Oil Ltd increased the price of their bottled soya bean oil by Tk 5 a litre and Rupchanda by Tk 13.
\nPacked soya bean oil sold for Tk 105 to Tk 115 a litre in the city\u2019s kitchen markets on Tuesday.
\nThe Meghna Vegetable Oil Ltd chairman, Mostafa Kamal, told New Age on the day the prices were increased that the millers had been selling oil at reduced prices for a few months at the request of the government.
\n\u2018Now we have been compelled to increase the prices because of a price increase on the international market,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Courtesy of NewAge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The High Court on Sunday asked the chief controller (export and import) and the chairman of Chittagong Port Authority to inform the court within four weeks on how much soya bean oil had been imported in last six months and what their prices were. The president and secretary of Vegetable Oil Refiners\u2019 and Vanaspati Manufacturers\u2019 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n