HC Stays BTRC Transfer Orders, Seeks Explanation Over Legality
The High Court has stayed the transfer orders of two deputy directors of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), while issuing a rule asking why the orders should not be declared illegal and beyond lawful authority.
The order came on April 15, 2026, following a preliminary hearing of a writ petition (No. 4332/2026) filed by Deputy Directors Sanjib Kumar Sinha and S.M. Afzal Reza. The bench comprising Justice Md. Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice A.F.M. Saiful Karim passed the directive.
Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan represented the petitioners during the hearing.
According to the case details, the two officials were transferred through separate orders dated March 31 and April 2, 2026, signed by BTRC’s Deputy Director (Human Resource Development and Management). The petitioners argued that the transfer orders were arbitrary, motivated, and inconsistent with existing laws and regulations.
After hearing the matter, the court suspended the effectiveness of the transfer orders and directed the respondents to reply to the rule. The Secretary of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, the BTRC Chairman, and four others have been made respondents in the case.
Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan stated that, following the court’s stay order, there is now no legal bar for the two officials to continue in their current positions. The process of sending certified copies of the court order to the relevant authorities is currently underway.
Earlier, controversy had emerged within BTRC over moves to promote several officials allegedly recruited without examinations and facing audit objections. In March this year, multiple deputy directors—including Sanjib Kumar Sinha, Kazi Md. Ahsanul Habib, Zakir Hossain Khan, S.M. Afzal Reza, Md. Asif Wahid, and Md. Hasibul Kabir—filed a writ petition challenging that decision.
Allegations have also surfaced that some BTRC monitoring stations outside Dhaka—particularly in Rangpur and Sylhet, where the two officials were transferred—lack formal government approval.
DBTech/SI/EK/OR
