The High Court has suspended the appointment of AKM Shahid Uddin as managing director of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa).
The High Court bench comprising Justice Ashish Ranjan Das and Justice Fahmida Quader on Sunday also ordered the immediate appointment of the most senior deputy managing director as the new MD of the organization.
Previously, Taqsem A Khan resigned as MD of Dhaka Wasa on August 14, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 in the face of a mass uprising.
The following day, the Local Government Division issued a notification cancelling the remaining term of Taqsem’s contract. The notification said Wasa must promptly begin the process of appointing a new MD under the provisions of the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Act, 1996. Until a new MD is appointed, the senior-most DMD was to assume the duties of the MD.
However, bypassing seniority, DMD AKM Shahid Uddin was appointed the new MD.
Challenging the legality of this appointment, Dhaka Wasa Workers’ Union President Anisuzzaman Shaheen Khan filed a writ petition with the High Court.