Staff Reporter :
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking its direction upon the concerned bodies of the government to take necessary steps for imposing a ban on the informal high interest money lending activities across the country.
Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the petition with the HC on Tuesday as a public interest litigation.
The lawyer also prayed to the HC to issue a ruling upon the respondents to explain as to why the failure or inaction of the respondents to prevent informal moneylenders from lending money in excessive interest rate should not be declared illegal.
The petitioner also prayed to the court to issue a ruling upon the respondents as to why the respondents should not be directed to impose a ban on the high interest money lending activities across the country.
Pending hearing of the ruling the petitioner also prayed to the HC to direct the respondents to identify all the usurious moneylenders across the country.
Finance secretary, Bangladesh Bank governor, deputy commissioners and police superintendents of the 64 districts of the country and others have been made respondents in the petition.
The petition will be placed for hearing in the HC bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice Md Zakir Hossain this week, said Barrister Sayedul Haque.
The lawyer said, “Most of the people who have been victimized through the informal high interest money lending business are the member of the grassroots level. In many cases they have to pay 200, 250 or 300 percent interest.”
“The people who fall into this trap of high interest business are getting poorer day by day and the moneylenders are getting richer. We want the DCs and SPs to list them. If the administration fails to bring the informal interest business of the co-operative societies or the businessmen under control, then there will be a chaos in the society,” added the lawyer.
