[ALOCHONA] Top court confirms Yunus exit

Top court confirms Yunus exit

Dhaka, Apr 5 (bdnews24.com)—The Supreme Court has confirmed the High Court ruling upholding the sacking of Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank as its managing director. The dismissal of the Nobel Peace laureate's appeal by the full bench of the Appellate Division on Tuesday puts to rest a bitter battle between Yunus and the Bangladeshi government.

At the hearing, senior Supreme Court lawyer Kamal Hossain appeared for Yunus, attorney general Mahbubey Alam argued for the government and, Tawfiq Newaz and Ajmalul Hossain for the Bangladesh Bank.

On Mar 29, a regular bench of the Appellate Division led by chief justice A B M Khairul Haque ordered Yunus to seek permission for admissibility of the appeal for a freeze on the High Court order and set the hearing for Monday, which was moved to Tuesday.
On Mar 8, the High Court rejected Yunus's claim that his sudden sacking on Mar 2 by the central bank and financial sector regulator was arbitrary and illegal.

In its decision, the High Court had found that Yunus, 70, had no legal authority to act as the micro¬lender's managing director, since its board had not obtained the Bangladesh Bank's sanction to re-appoint Yunus beyond the bank's official retirement age of 60.

Yunus argued that Grameen Bank had been given special status and it was exempt from the rule. He filed a petition against the order which the High Court had rejected. Later, on Mar 9 Yunus filed a petition seeking a stay on the High Court order.

Hearing the appeal on Mar 29, the Appellate Division asked the 2006 Noble laureate to file a leave-to-appeal and he did it on Sunday following the publication of the full verdict. The removal of Yunus drew flaks from home and abroad with the US criticizing Bangladesh's handling of the affair.

Main opposition BNP also spoke highly against the decision while his supporters said the firing was the culmination of a political vendetta against him. The United States warned last month that ties with Bangladesh could be affected if a solution was not found to the clash between the government and Yunus.

PUSH FOR SETTLEMENT

Shortly after he was asked to leave the bank, Yunus tried to bargain the post of the chairman of the board of directors for himself so that he could continue to oversee the bank after retiring. But the government refused.

Yunus issued an appeal on Mar 7 for a smooth transition of leadership at Grameen, in first public indication that he was willing to relinquish control of the institution. His supporters released a letter Yunus wrote last year to finance minister A M A Muhith, proposing that he step down as managing director, and suggesting the government – which selects a quarter of the Grameen board's voting members, and the chairman – appoint him as chairman. "This will ensure the continuity in the bank remains. The staff and borrowers of Grameen Bank will not get scared by the suddenness of my departure," Yunus wrote.

The bank now has 20,000 employees and 83.5 lakh customers. It has distributed Tk 60,400 crore in loans as of January 2011.

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=191978&cid=2

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