HC orders govt to clear dues of retired union parishad secretaries within 60 days

Bangladesh’s High Court has ordered the government to clear unpaid gratuity and festival allowances owed to retired union parishad secretaries within 60 days of receiving the judgment.

A bench comprising Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif issued the ruling after completing the final hearing of a writ petition filed in 2022.

The case was brought by Md Yusuf Bhuiyan, a retired secretary of Dhalua Union Parishad in Cumilla’s Nangalkot upazila, and 146 others. They claimed around Tk 20 crore in unpaid dues. The local government secretary, finance secretary and 29 others were named as respondents.

The petitioners argued that service rules entitled union parishad secretaries to gratuity equal to 75% of their gross pension, along with festival allowances available to government employees. They said they had received gratuity based on 50% of their gross pension but were denied the remaining amount without lawful justification.

They had sent a legal notice to the authorities on April 16, 2022. After receiving no effective response, they moved the High Court. Barrister Mohammad Humaun Kabir Pallab represented the petitioners, while Deputy Attorney General KB Rumy represented the state.