The High Court has withdrawn its August 4 ruling that Grameen Kalyan, owned by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, must pay Tk666 crore in taxes to the National Revenue Board (NBR).
The new ruling was made based on a judge's involvement in the case. The court has also sent the case documents to the chief justice for further review on Thursday.
A High Court bench consisting Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice SM Moniruzzaman passed the order.
Following this decision, Dr Yunus's lawyer, Abdullah-Al-Mamun, said: “The senior judge of the ruling bench cited grounds for recalling the ruling, stating that the other judge had previously served as the deputy attorney general representing the state in this court. He had contested this case on behalf of the government.
“Therefore, since he (the judge) had been involved in the case, issuing a ruling would be defective. As a result, the ruling was withdrawn, and the case was sent to the chief justice for determination by another court.”
When asked why this issue was not raised during the hearings over the past six months, lawyer Abdullah-Al-Mamun added: “This has put us in an embarrassing position. A wrong message may go out to the public suggesting that Dr Muhammad Yunus took this action because he is the chief advisor.”
Earlier, on August 4, the High Court dismissed a writ challenging the validity of the NBR’s claim of Tk666 crore in taxes against Dr Muhammad Yunus's Grameen Kalyan, stating that Dr Yunus must pay the government that amount.
Grameen Kalyan, chaired by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, filed separate writs in 2017 regarding tax demands for the fiscal years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.
Following the hearing of a rule, the High Court delivered its ruling.
The NBR then filed a separate leave to appeal (requesting permission to appeal) against that ruling.