SC lawyer files writ seeking HC directive against 3,000 tonnes hilsa export to India
The petition also seeks a permanent ban on the hilsa export from the Padma, Meghna, and other rivers in Bangladesh
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking its directive to cancel the Ministry of Commerce's decision to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa fish to India.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Md Mahmudul Hasan filed the writ petition with the court's relevant wing today (25 September).
"Earlier, I sent a legal notice to the concerned parties to cancel the government's decision to export hilsa. As no action was taken in response, this writ petition was filed today," the lawyer told the media.
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Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, secretary of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, chairman of the National Board of Revenue, and the chief controller of imports and exports office were made respondents in the writ.
The petition also seeks a permanent ban on the hilsa export from the Padma, Meghna, and other rivers in Bangladesh.
The petition stated that hilsa is found in various rivers in India. Essentially, there is no need for India to import hilsa from Bangladesh.
According to the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, only 10% of the hilsa caught in Bangladesh is found in the Padma River. The quantity of hilsa found in the Padma River is insufficient to meet the demands of the people of Bangladesh.
Various media outlets in West Bengal, India, have published statements by leaders of the Indian Fish Importers Association, acknowledging that they import hilsa from the Padma River in Bangladesh.
The petition further stated that Indian agents and exporters in Bangladesh collect fish from the Padma River throughout the year, freeze them, and then export or smuggle them to India. This results in hilsa shortage in Bangladesh markets and causes the price of the fish to surge extravagantly high.
As per Bangladesh's Export Policy 2021-24, Hilsa is not a freely exportable commodity. If this fish is to be exported, certain conditions must be met, reads the petition.
The commerce ministry cannot independently approve the export of hilsa without the explicit approval of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, it added.
