The Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for Bangladesh Bank to take legal action against NRB Commercial Bank's chairman and managing director for failing to protect the interest of its depositors and shareholders.

The apex court scrapped a High Court order that asked the authorities concerned of the central bank not to create any obstruction in discharging duties by NRB Commercial Bank's Chairman Farasath Ali and its Managing Director Dewan Mujibur Rahman.

It, however, asked the Bangladesh Bank to give the copy of its inspection report to Farasath and Mujibur in three days. A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after hearing a petition filed by AM Tushar Iqbal Rahman, a sponsor shareholder and a former director of NRB Commercial Bank, challenging the HC order.

There is no legal bar for the Bangladesh Bank to carry out appropriate action against Farasath and Mujibur for their irregularities following the SC order, Barrister Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury, a lawyer for Tushar, told The Daily Star.

He said Bangladesh Bank on March 20 this year issued two separate show-cause notices on Farasath and Mujibur under the Bank Companies Act, saying that it has been found in the inspection that NRB Commercial Bank has failed to protect the interest of its depositors and shareholders.

In the notice issued to Farasath, the central bank asked him to show cause in 10 days why action should not be taken against the board of NRB Commercial Bank.

The central bank in another notice asked Mujibur to explain in 10 days why he should not be removed from the post of managing director of NRB Commercial bank, the lawyer said.

Following a writ petition filed by Farasath and Mujibur, the HC on March 28 ordered the authorities not to create any obstruction in discharging duties by them and issued a rule asking them to explain why they should not be directed to give the copy of inspection report to them, Barrister Chowdhury said.

He also said the SC yesterday dismissed the writ petition of Farasath and Mujibur, as writ petition is not acceptable.

Meanwhile, NRB Commercial Bank's Vice President Masum Haider, who said he was present in the court during the proceedings of the case, told The Daily Star that the SC directed BB to dispose of the letter sent by Saidur Rahman, father of Tushar Iqbal, within three weeks.