Take back Brazilian wheat if returned, HC tells govt

-HC orders government to take back wheat imported from Brazil if any department or organisation wants to return

-No one will be forced to receive the wheat, the court says

-Disposes of petition seeking ACC investigation

The High Court today ordered the government to take back wheat imported from Brazil if any department or organisation wants to return as criticism continues over its quality.

The government cannot compel any one to receive the wheat, the court said while delivering the order.

There is no report before the court that the wheat, which has already been distributed, caused any illness or harm to any human’s health, it observed.

The court mentioned that Directorate General of Food submitted a report before it on July 5 saying that the wheat is not unfit for human consumption. However, some of the local laboratories claimed that some insects were found in the wheat, the HC said.

The High Court bench of Justice Quazi-Reza-Ul Haque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman came up with the orders and observation after disposing of a writ petition filed by a lower.

On June 30, the court following the writ petition asked the food directorate to report in three days whether the wheat was suitable for consumption.

Pavel Mia, a lawyer at the Dhaka Judges' Court, moved the petition on June 29, seeking an HC order upon the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to launch an investigation to confirm its quality.

The government has reportedly imported around two lakh tonnes of “substandard” wheat from Brazil recently.

Later, the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) claimed that it had found the imported wheat substandard.