A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Sunday challenging a Bangladesh Bank circular that fixed 9 percent loan interest.

Law student Mahfuzur Rahman filed the petition with the High Court, said Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Sayedul Haque Suman.

The petition will likely be heard by the bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir.

Barrister Suman said Bangladesh Bank issued a circular on Feb 24 announcing that no loan would cost more than 9 percent interest. The circular does not have any word about depositors.

He said they challenged the legality of the circular and sought an interim order on its effectiveness.

Three people, including the Finance Secretary and Bangladesh Bank Governor were made respondents.

Bangladesh Bank has recently issued a circular fixing single-digit interest rate from April 1.

On January 1, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said country’s banks will follow the single-digit interest rate-- highest 6 percent for deposit and maximum 9 percent for lending - from April 1.