Shawdesh Desk:

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Grameenphone to pay Tk 1,000 crore by Monday as part of the Tk 12,579.95 crore audit dispute with Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

A seven-member appeal bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain issued the order on Thursday after hearing a petition filed by Grameenphone.

Lawyer AM Amin Uddin and Barrister Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury stood for Grameenphone while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Raquib represented the state.

On November 24, the Appellate Division asked GP to pay Tk 2,000 crore of the Tk 12,579.95 crore dues claimed by BTRC within three months.

The deadline will expire on February 23.

BTRC claimed the dues in 27 sectors from the mobile operator but failed to recover the money. Later, BTRC sent a notice to GP threatening to revoke its licence on April 2 last year.

But GP moved the court seeking a temporary injunction on the notice which was turned down on August 28 that year. The mobile operator later filed an appeal with the High Court.

On October 17, the High Court imposed a two-month injunction on realisation of dues from GP. BTRC later moved the Appellate Division against the order.