The High Court yesterday directed the authorities concerned to form a high-powered committee to investigate the unusual hikes in prices of all types of agricultural commodities, identify the persons responsible, and submit a report within a month.

In response to a writ petition, the court also issued a rule asking the respondents to explain why their inaction and failure to prevent the price hikes should not be declared illegal.

In the rule, the HC sought an explanation as to why they should not be directed to establish marketplaces at the field level under government management to keep the price of agricultural commodities at a bearable level.

Secretaries concerned with the ministries of agriculture, commerce, finance, and public administration; the director general of the Department of Agricultural Marketing; and the chairman of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh have been made respondents to the rule.

The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah issued the order and rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Manoj Kumar Bhowmik seeking necessary directives to this effect.

Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state during the hearing of the petition.