HC stays Citycell closure order till Sept 16

A High Court bench on Monday stayed government’s order to shutdown Citycell’s operation or cancel its license up to September 16.

Citycell’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mehboob Chowdhury confirmed about the court order to journalists.

The HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order after China Development Bank placed its injunction petition during a hearing of a petition filed by the bank to realise its dues of $36.63 million from Citycell.

Government earlier planned to shut down Citycell’s operation at the zero hour of August 24.

After government’s order, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission also took all its preparation to shut down its switch room, said the commission’s Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood just before the court order.

Earlier, the telecom regulator on Wednesday sought reasons within 30 days from Pacific Bangladesh Telecom that owns Citycell for not cancelling its license although the operator failed to pay Tk 477.63 crore in dues.

As BTRC gave Citycell 30 days time to explain their point, the HC also said within this time the operation of the telecom operator needs to uninterrupted.

Earlier in a notice, BTRC said the switchover period for Citycell subscribers to other operators has been extended until August 23, after the initial deadline ended on August 16.