The High Court (HC) on Wednesday ordered the formation of a committee headed by a professor of Chemical Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to investigate the depot fire at Sitakunda in Chittagong.
The court asked the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources to form the committee with other experts.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after hearing of a writ petition.
The committee will submit their report by three months, it said.
The court also issued a rule questioning why the deceased's family and injured victims of the depot fire should not be paid adequate compensation.
In another rule, the HC wanted to know why the negligence of the authorities concerned should not be declared illegal and legal action will not be taken against the culprits through proper investigation of the depot fire.
The rule also sought explanation as to why instructions should not be given to designate places for chemical storage and show the quantity of chemicals and type of chemicals to be stored in the depot.
At the same time, the court also asked why the fire service authority was not provided with modern equipment.
Home Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary, Industries Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense, Chittagong Port Authority Chairman, Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong, Chairman and Managing Director of Smart Group, BM Container Depot were made respondents to the rule.
At least 51 people were killed in a fire at BM container depot in Chittagong's Sitakunda on June 4. The petition was filed on behalf of 'Law and Life Foundation' and 'CCB Foundation'. It sought necessary directives to pay compensation of Tk2 crore to each deceased's family and Tk50 lakh to each injured victim.
Besides, firefighters were unable to control fire caused by chemical due to lack of necessary training and modern equipment, it said.
Earlier, the Law and Life Foundation Trust and the CCB Foundation had served separate legal notices seeking compensation for the victims, said Barrister Pallab.