Dhaka: The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on Thursday on a petition seeking cancellation of the BTRC decision suspending the spectrum of Citycell, the country’s oldest mobile phone operator, for its failure to pay the outstanding amount of Tk 477.63 crore.

A four-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, fixed the date on Tuesday after hearing the petition, reports UNB.

On 25 October, the Supreme Court chamber judge fixed November 1 for hearing the petition filed by Citycell with the regular SC bench, headed by the Chief Justice.

The Citycell authorities filed the petition with the Appellate Division on 24 October seeking a stay on the decision of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) that suspended its spectrum for the non-payment of dues.

Barrister Rokonuddin Mahmud and Barrister Mostafizur Rahman Khan stood for the telecom company while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state and Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Barrister Reza-e-Rakib argued for the BTRC.

On 20 October, the BTRC suspended the spectrum of Citycell as it failed to pay the outstanding payment of Tk 477.63 crore.

On 29 August, the Appellate Division ordered Citycell to pay its Tk 477.51 crore dues to the BTRC in two installments to continue its operation.

The apex court had asked the mobile phone operator to pay the first slot of Tk 318.42 crore, two-thirds of the total outstanding payment, within 19 October.

As Citycell failed to pay the two-thirds of the total amount within the stipulated time, the BTRC took the decision to suspend the operations of the mobile phone operator as per the law.