Staff Reporter :
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the government decision of record price hiking of diesel, kerosene, octane and petrol. The petition sought stay order from the court upon the effectiveness of the notification issued on August 5 increasing the price of the fuel energy.
Supreme Court lawyer Dr Eunus Ali Akond filed the petition on Monday with concerned section of the High Court.
The petitioner also prayed to the court to issue a rule upon the respondents to explain as to why the notification issued by the Ministry of Power increasing the fuel prices should not be
declared illegal and as to why the respondents should not be directed to cancel or withdraw the notification.
Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Deputy Secretary of the same Ministry and Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) have been made respondents in the petition.
The petition has already been placed before the High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo. The court may hold hearing on the petition on next Sunday, said the lawyer.
The government on August 5 hiked fuel prices by up to 51.7 percent, the highest in the country’s history, adding to the plight of common people already struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.
As per the new prices that took effect at 12:00am on August 6, a litre of octane now costs Tk 135, which is 51.7 percent higher than the previous rate of Tk 89. Similarly, each litre of petrol now costs Tk 130, a rise of Tk 44 or 51.1 percent, said a press release from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
The price of each litre of diesel and kerosene has reached Tk 114 from Tk 80.
According to the writ petition, issuance of the notification increasing the price of fuels without any justifiable reason is a violation of law. This sudden price hike will destabilize people’s daily and family life.
