Mahbub & Company represented a leading multinational delivery company before the Hon’ble High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in two criminal cases pending against five of its senior officials. Upon hearing the petitions seeking to quash the criminal proceedings, the Hon’ble Court issued a Rule and stayed all further proceedings in both cases.
The dispute arose out of commercial transactions between the delivery company and its supplier in the course of their business dealings. The disagreement relating to the parties’ commercial dealings subsequently led the proprietor of the supplier company to institute two criminal cases under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 506 of the Penal Code, 1860, alleging cheating, forgery and criminal intimidation against five senior officials of the delivery company.
Pursuant to the directions of the Magistrate Court, the police conducted investigations and submitted separate investigation reports implicating the five officials. The proceedings subsequently advanced before the Court of the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka. The officials subsequently obtained anticipatory bail and were later granted regular bail by the Court of the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka.
Thereafter, Mahbub & Company moved the Hon’ble High Court Division seeking to quash the criminal proceedings, placing the underlying commercial nature of the dispute before the Hon’ble Court. Upon hearing the petitions and considering the nature of the dispute, the Hon’ble Court was satisfied that the matter arose from a commercial dispute and that the issues involved were capable of resolution through appropriate commercial remedies without resorting to criminal proceedings. Accordingly, a vacation bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Md. Asif Hasan issued a Rule and also stayed all further proceedings in both cases for three months.
The order marks an interim development in the proceedings, as the Hon’ble High Court Division has stayed the continuation of the criminal cases while considering whether the proceedings should be quashed in light of the underlying commercial dispute.
The matter was handled by A.M. Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Senior Advocate and Head of Chamber, together with Saqeb Mahbub, Partner, Rifat Rahman, Senior Associate, and Sohrawardy Arafat Khan, Associate.
The Petitioners were also represented by Kazi Ershadul Alam and Mashiur Rahman, Advocate(s), Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
