A Supreme Court lawyer today served a legal notice to the government asking it to take necessary measures to stop the export of hilsa fish to India in three days.

Advocate Md Mahmudul Hasan sent the legal notice to the secretaries at the ministries of commerce and fisheries and livestock; chairman of the national board of revenue and chief controller of the imports and exports office, saying that he will move a writ petition before the High Court if they don't take the steps in three days.

In the legal notice, the lawyer said that he is aggrieved with the decision to give permission to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa to neighbouring country India for the sufficient interest of the mass people of Bangladesh.

"Hilsa is a sea fish which is available in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and many other countries. When this hilsa fish comes into the sweet water, especially in the Padma River of Bangladesh, it becomes very tasty and delicious. That is why the hilsa fish, which are captured from the Padma River of Bangladesh, is tastier and more delicious than the hilsa fish, which are captured from the sea."

"Our neighboring country, India, also has a large sea territory, and they also produce a huge quantity of hilsa fish. India does not need to import hilsa fish from Bangladesh. However, India mainly imports the hilsa fish, which are captured from the Padma River. The fish exporters of Bangladesh stock this fish captured from Padma River, and due to this, Bangladeshi people do not find sufficient such hilsa fish in the market," he said.

He also said according to the Export Policy 2021-24, hilsa is not a freely exportable product. However, the commerce secretary unlawfully allowed the export of hilsa fish to India without considering the interests of the people of Bangladesh, he said.

"The present interim government was formed through a mass revolution on August 5, 2024, with the commitment to reformation in every sector of the country and to uphold the interests of the people of Bangladesh. However, by allowing the export of hilsa to India, the present interim government betrayed the people of Bangladesh by depriving them of the hilsa fish of the Padma River," he stated in the legal notice.