HC asks why labour court’s indictment order against him shouldn’t be scrapped
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a High Court verdict that justified the tax authorities’ decision to impose tax on the money Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus donated to his three charitable trusts.
Following the apex court verdict, Prof Yunus will have to pay around Tk 12 crore as tax on the money he donated to his trusts, said his lawyer Sarder Jinnat Ali.
For all latest news, follow The My News’s Google News channel. He said around Tk 15 crore tax was imposed on the donated money over the years and Prof Yunus paid over Tk 3 crore to the office concerned before challenging the decision.
In reply to a query, Jinnat said the next step would be taken after consulting with Prof Yunus.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique delivered the verdict after dismissing three leave to appeals of Prof Yunus. Details of the verdict could not be known as its full text has not been released yet.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told this correspondent that the tax authorities will assess how much Prof Yunus will have to pay.
On May 31, the HC in its verdict said the decision of imposing tax on the money donated by Prof Yunus was “legal”.
According to the case documents, Prof Yunus donated Tk 76.73 crore to Professor Muhammad Yunus Trust, Yunus Family Trust and Yunus Centre between 2011 and 2012 and 2013 and 2014 tax years.
HC ISSUES RULE ON STATE
The HC yesterday issued a rule on the state asking it to explain in two weeks why a labour court order that on June 6 framed charges against Prof Yunus and three other top Grameen Telecom officials in a case filed over labour law violation should not be scrapped.
The bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das issued the rule following a petition filed by Prof Yunus challenging the labour court order.
Apart from Grameen Telecom Chairman Prof Yunus, the other accused are its Managing Director Ashraful Hasan, and directors Nur Jahan Begum and Mohammad Shahjahan.
On September 9, 2021, SM Arifuzzaman, a labour inspector (general) of the Inspection for Factories and Establishments Department, filed the case with the court.
Lawyer Abdullah-Al-Mamun appeared for Prof Yunus while Attorney General AM Amin represented the state during the hearing.
The complainant’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The My News that an appeal would be moved before the Appellate Division challenging the HC rule.
