The High Court on Sunday directed the Bangladesh Bank to take necessary steps to investigate the inaction of the different payment gateways including BKash and Nagad in refunding the money kept in the escrow accounts of the customers of the e-commerce platforms and to submit a report to this court within 60 days.
The High Court also issued a ruling asking the Bangladesh Bank to explain in four weeks as to why its inaction in taking necessary steps for refunding the advance payment of the customers of the controversial e-commerce platform Evaly Limited stuck in the mobile financial services BKash and Nagad should not be declared illegal.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order after hearing a writ petition that was filed seeking its directives over refunding the customers money stuck in BKash and Nagad.
Md Abu Bakar Siddique and 21 other customers who paid money through BKash and Nagad to purchase products from the Evaly Limited filed the writ petition on October 24 this year.
Barrister Ashfaqur Rahman appeared in the court on behalf of the customers, while deputy attorney general Nawroz Md Russel Chowdhury represented the state.
Mr Asfaqur Rahman later said his clients paid a total Tk 26.10 million through BKash and Nagad to purchase products from Evaly Limited.
The lawyer also said according to a Bangladesh Bank circular the gateways will pay the money to the e-commerce platforms after being confirmed about the delivery of the product. If the product is not delivered within 10 days the money will be refunded automatically.
But my clients have not received the products or they the money back yet, also said the lawyer. And that is why they came to the High Court challenging the authorities’ inaction.
Meanwhile, the same High Court bench on November 1 following another writ petition raised questions over the failure or inaction of the Finance Ministry and the Bangladesh Bank in issuing necessary directives for refunding the money of the e-commerce customers stuck in the different payment gateways.
The court in a ruling asked the respondents to explain in four weeks as to why the failure or inaction of the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank in issuing necessary directives upon the five payment gateways, BKash, Nagad, SSL Wireless, Foster Payments and Shurjo Pay, for refunding the consumers money should not be declared illegal.
Apart from this, another High Court bench asked the customers or creditors of Evaly Limited not to insist upon the newly formed board of directors or management of the organisation for a refund of their money in the next six months.
However, now the customers are directed to contact the Head Office of Evaly to settle their issues, the court also said in its order by which it had recently formed a five-member body to run the organisation.
The High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the directions in an order on October 8 following a petition filed under the Companies Act.
The customers shall be at liberty to approach the company bench of the High Court during the pendency of the case, the order also read.
