The High Court has directed the Bangladesh Bank Governor to promptly resolve the application for reinstating 547 officers of Al-Arafah Islami Bank who were terminated from their positions. The court also issued a rule in this regard.On Sunday (August 24), the High Court bench, comprising Justice Md. Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Foyez Ahmed, passed the order.
Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Barrister HM Sanjid Siddique represented the petitioners during the hearing.
Earlier, 300 terminated employees of Al-Arafah Islami Bank had filed a writ petition in the High Court.
On July 28, 547 officers of the bank were removed from their jobs without prior notice, allegedly in violation of Bangladesh Bank’s guidelines. The petitioners sought reinstatement and action against their unlawful termination.
The application stated, “We have been working diligently in various branches and departments of the bank with reputation, sincerity, honesty, and dedication. However, on July 20, 2025, we received termination letters via official email without any valid reason. Our termination was entirely motivated and illegal, carried out under false pretenses without specific allegations or show-cause notices. The bank has cited performance evaluation tests as a pretext for our termination, while simultaneously attempting to recruit new employees for our positions. Notably, Bangladesh Bank’s BRPD Circular No. 04, dated January 25, 2022, under clause 3.6, explicitly states that employees cannot be deprived of promotions or terminated solely for failing to meet targets or on grounds of inefficiency. Termination or forced resignation is not permissible without specific, proven allegations.”
The petition further highlighted that the terminations were unlawful and in violation of the aforementioned regulations, causing severe financial distress and humanitarian crises in the personal and family lives of the affected employees. Many of them have crossed the age limit for alternative employment opportunities. The petitioners urged for justice, reinstatement to their respective positions, and necessary action.
As no response was received to their initial application, the affected employees filed the writ petition.
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