High Court judge recuses from hearing Islami Bank share ownership challenge
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A High Court bench in Bangladesh has recused itself from hearing a writ petition challenging the legality of 24 corporate entities holding shares in Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC. Justices Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah and Rezaul Karim referred the case to the Chief Justice for reassignment after one of the judges expressed personal reluctance to preside over the matter.
The legal challenge, filed in February 2023 by the bank’s former managing director, Muhammad Monirul Mawla, alleges that the S. Alam Group holds an 81.92% stake in the financial institution through 24 affiliated companies. The petition asserts that these shareholdings were acquired in violation of the Bank Company Act and seeks to have them forfeited.
In March 2023, the High Court issued a rule asking why the share acquisitions should not be declared illegal and why the shares should not be confiscated. As part of the preliminary order, the court also froze the bank accounts of the directors and shareholders associated with the S. Alam Group and imposed a travel ban on them pending judicial permission.
The case, which saw the inclusion of the Islamic Economics Research Bureau (IERB) as a respondent, had been undergoing hearings before Wednesday’s recusal. Senior counsel M. Abdul Qayyum, representing Islami Bank, confirmed that the court declined to continue the proceedings due to the judge’s stated discomfort, thereby removing it from the current bench’s jurisdiction.
The corporate entities cited in the writ include JMC Builders, BTA Finance, Paradise International, ABC Ventures, Excel Dyeing and Printing, Platinum Endeavors, Excelsior Impex, Grand Business, Lion Head Business Resources, BLU International, Armada Spinning Mills, Kingsway Endeavors, Uniglobe Business Resources, Solid Insurance PCC, Holistic International, High Class Business Enterprise, Carolina Business Enterprise, Brilliant Business Company, Broadway Impex Company, Peaks Business Enterprise, Evergreen Shipping, Marathon Trade International, Kingston Flour Mills, and Percepta Endeavors.
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