A writ petition has been filed in the High Court challenging the legality of the appointment of a receiver to Nagad, the state-owned mobile financial service provider.

The petition, submitted by Safayet Islam, an independent director of Nagad, was taken up by the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam, who adjourned the hearing until September 15.

Safayet, who holds less than 13 per cent of Nagad’s shares, also requested the court to stay Bangladesh Bank’s decision, which has placed Nagad under the control of an interim administration.

On August 22, Bangladesh Bank appointed Muhammad Badiuzzaman Dider,  former director of the bank’s Chattogram office, as an administrator for Nagad, following numerous allegations of irregularities involving its operations and dealings with its 9 crore customers.

The administrator’s role is set for one year, according to an internal order from the central bank.

To assist the administrator, six officers have been appointed. The move also led to the dissolution of Nagad's Board of Directors and the position of Chief Executive Officer. Notably, Nagad has been operating without a Mobile Financial Services (MFS) license, functioning under the Postal Department with approval from Bangladesh Bank.

Nagad’s defence team in the case includes lawyers Nawshad Zamir and Ruhul Quddus Kazal, while Bangladesh Bank is being represented by lawyers Md Asaduzzaman, BM Elias, and ASM Sazzad Haider.