The Appellate Division on Sunday upheld till January 23 its chamber judge’s order that stayed the proceedings of a High Court verdict declaring the appointment of an administrator to operate Delta Life Insurance Company as illegal.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after hearing an appeal petition filed by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) challenging the High Court’s verdict.
There will be no bar on Md Quddus Khan, former secretary, to operate Delta Life Insurance as the administrator following the stay order granted by the apex court, said additional attorney general Sk Md Morshed.
The High Court on January 6 delivered the verdict declaring illegal a government’s decision on appointing the administrator to Delta Life Insurance in February in 2021. The High Court in the verdict reinstated the previous board of directors.
The verdict was given after hearing a writ petition filed by Delta Life and its share-holders challenging the decision of appointing an administrator by IDRA on allegations that Delta Life had evaded taxes and had not settled claims of policyholders.
But the chamber bench of the Appellate Division on January 10 this year stayed the proceedings of the verdict and set January 16 for further hearing by the full bench of the Appellate Division. After hearing, the apex court upheld the stay order till January 23 and asked the IDRA to file a regular appeal petition against the verdict in the meantime.
On February 11, 2021, the IDRA suspended Delta Life’s board by citing irregularities, and appointed Md Quddus Khan as the administrator for four months.
The ousted entrepreneurs went to the HC against the regulatory action. They also filed an anti-corruption case against IDRA Chairman Dr M Mosharraf Hossain charging him with demanding bribes. Later, the IDRA changed administrators in the company twice.
Supreme Court lawyers Mustafizur Rahman Khan and Karishma Jahan appeared before the Appellate Division bench for Delta Life and its shareholders, while additional attorney general Sk Md Morshed represented the state.
