The High Court on Monday directed the government to stop operations of all illegal brick kilns in four districts -- Bogura, Tangail, Lalmonirhat, and Thakurgaon. The HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Md Shohrowardi came up with the order following a writ petition. The HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Md Shohrowardi directed the Department of Environment (DoE) to implement this order and submit a report within the next seven days. Besides, it has asked to make a complete list of all illegal brick kilns in the country and submit the list within the next 2 weeks, said Manzil Morshed, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB). The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain in four weeks why their inaction to shut down the illegal brick kilns in four districts under the Brick Kilns Control Act, 2013 should not be declared illegal. Read more: HC asks for list of closed brick kilns around Dhaka Despite the existence of provisions like no brick kiln can be set up without a license, they continue to proliferate throughout the country The writ was filed on November 6 following a report published in a daily newspaper in this regard. Read more: 5 brick kiln workers killed by lightning strike in Rangpur  

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the High Court order that cancelled the bail granted to the expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a graft case. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Samrat seeking a  3stay on the High Court order. The petition will likely be heard on the regular bench of the Appellate Division on May 30. Senior Advocate Rokonuddin Mahmud stood for the petitioner while Khurshid Alam Khan, a counsel of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) represented the state. On May 18, the High Court cancelled the bail granted to Samrat in the graft case. A two-judge bench of justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order in the wake of a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenging the bail order of a lower court on May 11. The court also asked Samrat to surrender before a lower court within seven days, said deputy attorney general AGM Amin Uddin. Earlier, on May 16, the ACC filed a petition before the High Court seeking cancellation of the bail of Samrat in the graft case. READ: HC cancels bail of expelled JL leader Samrat On May 11, the Dhaka court granted bail to Samrat in the graft case, paving the way for his release from judicial custody. Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 passed the order but with riders — Samrat can't leave the country without the permission of the court, has to submit his passport and also his health reports on the designated date. Earlier, the same court turned down his bail plea in the corruption case filed by the ACC twice -- on April 28 and April 13. Samrat secured bail in a drugs case on April 11 and in an Arms Act case and a money laundering case on April 10. The expelled Jubo League leader has been undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital since November 24 last year. On October 6, 2019, Rab detained Samrat and his associate Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla. Rab raided his Kakrail office later that day. Huge quantities of foreign liquor, pistols, and two hides of kangaroo were seized from his office. He was later sentenced by a mobile court to six months in prison under the Wildlife Conservation Act. On October 7, Abdul Khaleque, deputy assistant director of Rab-1 lodged two complaints against Samrat at Ramna police station under the Arms and the Narcotics Act. Arman was also made an accused in the narcotics case. On November 4, Shekhar Chandra Mallik, a sub-inspector, submitted a chargesheet against Samrat in the Arms Act case. On November 12, the ACC lodged a complaint against him for acquiring assets worth Tk 2.94 crore beyond his known sources of income. On September 12, 2020, Rashedur Rahman, sub-inspector of CID, registered a case against him at the Ramna police station for laundering Tk 195 crore to Malaysia and Singapore.  Lastly, on November 26 last year, the investigating officer in the case, Jahangir Alam, submitted a chargesheet in the court.

The High Court on Tuesday directed to audit the assets of the e-commerce company Evaly by a reputed audit firm in the country. A single HC bench of Justice Muhamad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order following the application submitted by the board of directors of Evaly that was formed on the direction of the court. Earlier, a court ordered a company named KPMG to audit Evaly's assets on October 18 last year. But the company charged Evaly Tk 86 lakh to conduct the audit. And so, the board directors of Evaly appealed to the court to have company audited by another firm, said Barrister Syed Mahsib Hossain. READ: Stop taking extra fares on public transport, HC asks BRTA Barrister Morshed Ahmed Khan appeared for the board of directors of Evaly in the court while Barrister Syed Mahsib Hossain for the writ petition. Another petition was also presented in court today. One of the customers appealed seeking to be included in a party in the case for non-receipt of payment for Evaly's product and the court registered his appeal. On October 18 last year, the High Court formed a 5-member board, led by former justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, to manage, control and assess the liabilities of shuttered e-commerce platform Evaly. Other members of the board are former secretary Mohammad Rezaul Ahsan and additional secretary Mahbub Kabir Milon, chartered accountant Fakhruddin Ahmed and lawyer Barrister Khan Mohammad Shamim Aziz. Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin, the chairman of the platform were arrested on September 16, after a customer named Arif Baker filed a case at Gulshan Police Station alleging that e-commerce platform was not delivering products despite taking advanced payments. Meanwhile customer Farhad Hossain submitted an application in the High Court seeking dissolution of the beleaguered company and direction on forming a board of directors for the company. On September 22, the High Court ordered a ban on the sale and transfer of movable and immovable property during a hearing on the application and issued a notice questioning why Evaly will not be disbanded. READ: Trial proceedings on FR Tower design forgery case to continue: HC On September 30, during a hearing in this regard the HC directed the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) to submit all the documents of Evaly within October 11.