The High Court on Monday quashed the trial proceedings of a food adulteration case filed against Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, the former chairman of Grameen Danone Food Limited, in 2010.
A bench comprising Justice KM Hafizul Alam and Justice Md Atabullah delivered the verdict after hearing a petition filed by Prof Yunus in 2011, challenging the legality of the case and its trial proceedings.
The case, filed by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), accused Grameen Danone Food Limited of storing adulterated dairy products, specifically curd.
The court dismissed the case after reviewing an affidavit submitted by the DSCC’s chief health officer on March 13. The affidavit stated that the case was based on a certificate issued by the DSCC’s then-public analyst, which was later found to be incorrect.
Barrister Tanim Hussain Shawon, the principal counsel for Prof Yunus, argued that the case had been filed with the Senior Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka in violation of procedural requirements under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Pure Food Ordinance.
He further submitted that the seized product did not belong to Grameen Danone Food Limited.
The allegations stemmed from a claim that Grameen Danone’s packaged dahi was labeled as 100 grams but was found to weigh less than that during an inspection by a city corporation official.
This led to the case against Professor Yunus, along with Md Abul Kashem, owner of Arif Hossain Store, and Md Jusher, owner of Amena Store, at Golden Market in Chowbazar.
With the High Court’s verdict, the proceedings against all accused have been officially dismissed.
