Bangladesh
Court order restores cancellation of 49 recruiting agencies’ licences
A Supreme Court chamber order has restored the government’s cancellation of 49 recruiting agencies’ licences by staying High Court orders. The 4 October decision follows allegations of irregularities in recruitment for Malaysia. It leaves the licence cancellations effective while the legal proceedings continue.
The government’s decision to cancel the licences of 49 recruiting agencies is effective again after the Supreme Court’s chamber court stayed High Court orders that had suspended the cancellation.
Justice Md Rezaul Haque made the latest order on 4 October following an application by the government, according to reports quoting the attorney general. The original cancellation notice was issued on 19 July.
The agencies face allegations of irregularities in sending workers abroad, including in the Malaysian recruitment market. Those allegations and related criminal proceedings are distinct from the immediate licensing question considered by the court.
An order restoring the effect of a government notice does not itself establish that every allegation against every agency has been proved. The procedural position also remains subject to further court proceedings.
The development matters to workers and recruitment businesses because a valid licence is central to an agency’s ability to operate. Applicants should not confuse an earlier temporary High Court suspension with the current legal position.
Reports of the litigation describe several petitions and intervening orders. The essential new development is that the chamber court’s intervention has allowed the cancellation decision to operate again.
