The High Court has said that the syndicate should be disbanded as those who hoard soybean oil and other daily essentials are causing miseries to people.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Moniruzzaman made the remarks on Sunday following a writ petition. The court, however, set Monday (today) for its order on the writ petition filed to control skyrocketing price of soybean oil.
Advocate Syed Mohidul Kabir stood for the writ petition, while Deputy Attorney General Pratikar Chakma represented the state.
The court told the petitioner’s lawyer that the month of Ramadan is closing at hand. The syndicate can create an artificial crisis of daily essentials. Not only the soybean oil, but all essential commodities should be included in the writ. Such an order should be given for the benefit of every citizen.
The HC bench also said that a policy should be formulated for the TCB (Trading Corporation of Bangladesh) on the distribution of daily essentials.
Three lawyers on March 6 filed the writ petition with the High Court as a public interest litigation, seeking the higher court’s directive to form a monitoring cell and formulate policy to control the price hike of soybean oil.
The lawyers are Advocate Syed Mohidul Kabir, Advocate Monir Hossain and Advocate Mohammad Ullah.
Secretary of Commerce Ministry, director general of Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection and other concerns were made respondents in the writ petition.
Earlier on March 3, the three lawyers brought the issue of the price hike of soybean oil to the notice of the High Court. On that day, the High Court bench advised the lawyers to file a writ petition.
They brought it to the attention of the court following a report published in an English daily about the price hike of soybean oil.
According to the report, a syndicate of unscrupulous traders in Bangladesh has raised the price of soybean oil at an unusual rate, taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war. People are smarting from price hike of soybean oil and other commodities.
However, every year before Ramadan, along with all other essentials, both the demand and price of soybean oil increase in Bangladesh.
Amid soaring prices of daily essentials, the government has decided to deliver 61,000 tonnes of soybean oil, sugar, chickpea and lentil to five crore people across the country through the TCB.
The TCB trucks currently sell essentials at subsidized prices in metropolitan areas. Sometimes, the TCB sells essentials at district level. The government has for the first time decided to take the TCB sales -trucks to unions.
