ARIF A. SHEKHA Vs. SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF INDUS­TRIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the instance of Arif A Shekha and nine others Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No. 99 of 1998 was preferred against the judgment and order dated 20 July 1994 passed by the High Court Division in Writ Petition No. 298 of 1987 making the Rule absolute with an observation out of which Civil Appeal No. 40 of 2000 arises.

(2.) The respondent No. 1 the Secretary, Ministry of Industries Government of Bangladesh and the respondent No.3 Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation also preferred Civil Appeal Nos.33 and 34 of 1997 respectively against the aforesaid judgment of the High Court Division.

(3.) The appellants Arif A Shekha and others of Civil Appeal No. 40 of 2000 instituted Writ Petition No. 298 of 1987 on the averments, inter alia, that two of them were Bangladeshi, seven of them were British and one of them was a Malaysian citizen and they were shareholders of Messrs Eastern Tubes Ltd. a limited company incorporated at Dhaka on 26-6-1964 holding 1,04,265 shares out of a total of 1,70,000 shares in the said company; 19,240 shares being held by Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha. The company was running an industry manufacturing fluorescent tube lights at Tejgaon Industrial Area through its appointed directors, managers, officers and executives at all relevant times. By notification No.186-SI dated 31-12-1971 passed under the Acting President's Order No. SEC-XIIM-35/71/17 dated 30-12-1971 the company was placed under a Management Board. By a notification No.P/E-1/1855 dated 17-5-1972, the company was placed under the Engineering and Ship Building Corporation, respondent No.2. The said Management continued under President's Order No. 27 of 1972. The shareholders challenged the taking over of the company and its assets by letters dated 20-1-1972, 15 -2-1972 and 4-6-1972 and pressed for release of the company without any response from the Government. On 2-2-1978 appellant No.1 received for the first time intimation from the Government that the prayers for release of the company in favour of the shareholders have been rejected. Appellant No.1 filed further applications dated 23-2-1978 and 18-7-1978 on receipt of which the Ministry of Industries by memos dated 21-10-1978 and 31-8-1979 asked for documents in proof of nationality of the shareholders. In the meantime, Messrs Bella Artifitex Industries Ltd. and some other sister enterprises of the said company in which major shares were held by the same group of persons were released to the shareholders by the Government being satisfied as to the genuineness of their claim. Suddenly appellant No.1 received the impugned Memo No. Shilpa/Dairy No.037/DT-2-/87/3028 dated 27-5-1987 intimating that the company in question and another company would not be released to its shareholders as it was done in the case of Messrs Bella Artifitex Industries Ltd. because the Government decided to disinvest these two industrial units by giving 51% and 49% shares of the said two companies to the said corporation respondent No.3 and the general public respectively. Upon sending a notice of demand of justice on 21-6-1987 the appellants challenged the impugned memo dated 27-5-1987 and the appellants obtained another Rule Nisi challenging notification No.186T 61 dated 31-12-1971 published in the Bangladesh Gazette Extraordinary dated 3-1-1972 in respect of the company in question. Both the Rules were heard together and disposed of by-the same judgment, making the Rule absolute.