Imported Wheat

SC upholds HC order to stop forced distribution

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the High Court observation that directed the government not to force any citizen to accept the imported Brazilian wheat and to take back the wheat that was distributed across the country but returned for being sub-standard.
The four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, passed the order, rejecting the appeal filed by the government against the HC order. The bench rejected the government’s petition, considering that it was not "being pressed" properly. Earlier, on July 9, the chamber judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique, stayed the High Court verdict that directed the government to take back the Brazilian wheat that was distributed across the country but returned for being sub-standard.

The chamber judge’s order came a day after the HC order that had said if anyone, any department or organisation wanted to return the distributed wheat for being sub-standard, the government was bound to accept the grains without any question. The HC also said the government could not force any department or organisation to procure the remaining portion of the imported wheat if they were unwilling to do so.
The HC bench comprising Justices Quazi Reza-Ul-Haque and Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman issued the directives after disposing of a writ petition challenging the legality of the imported Brazilian wheat by branding it as sub-standard.
The bench, however, maintained that test reports have revealed the wheat was fit for human consumption. A bulk of the imported wheat has already been consumed and there has been no report of illness or causalities, it noticed.
However, doubts on the quality persisted as insects were found in the wheat, the court added.
According to food ministry sources, the Food Directorate has already distributed over 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat for the government’s safety net schemes such as Food-for-Work and Test Relief as well as ration for police. Attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters that the government can still distribute the remaining wheat among parties willing to receive it.
On June 28, the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) had reported that “all the supplied samples contain high amount of shrunken and broken kernels than the supplied specifications”. It also said that the damaged grain percentage was also higher in all samples, except in the samples of wheat collected from Kurigram, Narail, Gaibandha and Sirajganj. In response to an HC directive, the DG of Food Director at on July 5 certified that the wheat imported from Brazil was “consumable as the samples were found to be within the admissible limits set in the contract specification”.
The import cost of the wheat was around USD 46 million or Tk 355 crore. A food ministry official said the government has already made 90 per cent of the payment.

Imported Wheat

SC upholds HC order to stop forced distribution

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the High Court observation that directed the government not to force any citizen to accept the imported Brazilian wheat and to take back the wheat that was distributed across the country but returned for being sub-standard. The four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, passed the order, rejecting the appeal filed by the government against the HC order. The bench rejected the governments petition, considering that it was not being pressed properly. Earlier, on July 9, the chamber judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique, stayed the High Court verdict that directed the government to take back the Brazilian wheat that was distributed across the country but returned for being sub-standard. The chamber judges order came a day after the HC order that had said if anyone, any department or organisation wanted to return the distributed wheat for being sub-standard, the government was bound to accept the grains without any question. The HC also said the government could not force any department or organisation to procure the remaining portion of the imported wheat if they were unwilling to do so. The HC bench comprising Justices Quazi Reza-Ul-Haque and Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman issued the directives after disposing of a writ petition challenging the legality of the imported Brazilian wheat by branding it as sub-standard. The bench, however, maintained that test reports have revealed the wheat was fit for human consumption. A bulk of the imported wheat has already been consumed and there has been no report of illness or causalities, it noticed. However, doubts on the quality persisted as insects were found in the wheat, the court added. According to food ministry sources, the Food Directorate has already distributed over 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat for the governments safety net schemes such as Food-for-Work and Test Relief as well as ration for police. Attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters that the government can still distribute the remaining wheat among parties willing to receive it. On June 28, the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) had reported that all the supplied samples contain high amount of shrunken and broken kernels than the supplied specifications. It also said that the damaged grain percentage was also higher in all samples, except in the samples of wheat collected from Kurigram, Narail, Gaibandha and Sirajganj. In response to an HC directive, the DG of Food Director at on July 5 certified that the wheat imported from Brazil was consumable as the samples were found to be within the admissible limits set in the contract specification. The import cost of the wheat was around USD 46 million or Tk 355 crore. A food ministry official said the government has already made 90 per cent of the payment.