The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has stayed Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 August 21, 2024 decision to dissolve Nagad Limited鈥檚 board of directors and appoint an administrator to oversee its operations.
The apex court also stayed the High Court verdict delivered on February 16, 2025, which upheld the central bank鈥檚 decision as lawful.
The Appellate Division鈥檚 chamber judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque, issued the stay order for eight weeks after hearing a provisional petition filed by Nagad鈥檚 nominated director Md Shafayet Alam.
The court also instructed Shafayet to submit a regular petition seeking leave to appeal against the High Court verdict.
Lawyer Muhammad Nawshad Zamir, who led Shafayet鈥檚 defense team, told 抖阴精品 that the stay would allow Nagad to resume operations under its own board of directors.
On February 16, the High Court bench鈥攖hen Justice Farah Mahbub (now promoted to the Appellate Division) and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury鈥攈ad dismissed Shafayet Alam鈥檚 writ petition, ruling it non-maintainable. The court held that Shafayet lacked legal standing to challenge Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 decision, as he was not a legally recognised director of the company.
Shafayet鈥檚 petition contested the central bank鈥檚 authority to appoint an administrator without issuing a show-cause notice or following due process.
Bangladesh Bank, however, had issued a show-cause notice not to Shafayet but to the Bangladesh Post Office鈥攖he original initiator of Nagad鈥攔equesting it to take action regarding the service鈥檚 governance.
The High Court observed that if Shafayet had grievances, his recourse should be with the Bangladesh Post Office rather than through a writ petition against the central bank.
Launched on November 11, 2018, by the Bangladesh Post Office, Nagad officially began operations on March 26, 2019, coinciding with the country鈥檚 48th Independence Day.
The digital financial service initially offered mobile-based transactions such as cash-in, cash-out, money transfer, and mobile recharge.
Senior lawyers Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar, Zainul Abedin and their junior Jamilur Rahman, among others, defended Shafayet.