Govt directed to conduct inquiry, form committee

The High Court, in the full text of an order, issued three directives over the government's electricity purchase deal with India's Adani Power Limited in 2017.

The four-page full text of the order, which was delivered by the HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury on November 19, was released on Monday.

In the full text, the bench directed the government to enquire into the process of the deal and to submit a report in 60 days.

It also asked the energy and mineral resources secretary to form a committee with internationally acclaimed energy and legal experts within a month to give detailed reports on the agreement within 60 days of the committee's formation.

The HC also directed the chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to submit all the minutes of the negotiations, if any, that took place before the conclusion of the said agreement on November 5, 2017, within a month of receiving the order's copy.

On November 19, the bench gave the directives and issued a rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Abdul Qaiyum challenging the legality of the power purchase agreement signed on November 5, 2017.

In the rule, HC asked the authorities concerned to show causes why the execution of the Power Purchase Agreement between BPDB and Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited, with unconscionable, unfair, unequal terms that are against the public interest and public policy of Bangladesh, should not be declared illegal and why they should not be directed to terminate the said agreement in case Adani Power does not agree to fair equal terms, according to the full text of the order.

The HC bench also fixed February 25 next year for further hearing of the matter.