The High Court has issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why it will not declare illegal the chart published by the Department of Film and Publication (DFP) on its website about the newspaper circulation and their advertisement rates.
The higher court also wanted to know why it will not pass order to ensure correct information on newspaper circulation and advertisement rates as per the law and rules concerned.
The HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md Bashir Ullah issued the order on Thursday (October 13) after holding hearing on a writ petition filed in this regard.
The HC bench asked the authorities concerned to reply the rule within four weeks.
Advocate Farhat Jahan Shirin filed the writ petition with the High Court on September 8, while Advocate Dr Dewan Md Abu Obaid Hossain moved the plea before the court. Deputy Attorney General Samira Tarannum Rabeya Mitu stood for the state.
According to the DFP chart, many newspapers, not a single copy of the dailies is available at any of the top newsstands in Dhaka while newspaper vendors say they have never heard the name, but the DFP data says that the circulation of dailies is most.
Many little-known and completely unheard-of print publications sell tens of thousands of copies in Bangladesh.
The latest circulation figures for print newspapers released by the DFP has raised eyebrows and triggered ripples of laughter among the people involved with the media industry.
The little-known newspapers get a huge amount of revenue from the government in the form of adverts at different rates due to the DFP chart.