High Court Division · Special Original Jurisdiction
Md. Moniruzzaman v Government of Bangladesh and others
Writ Petition 4124/2022 · Rules discharged as not maintainable · Decided 11 March 2026
A Full Bench of the High Court Division heard five writ petitions together, each challenging a decision of the Arbitration Tribunal of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in disputes over trade organisation membership, elections and nominations to the FBCCI General Body. The respondents objected that the petitions were not maintainable, and the Court heard only that question. The petitioners argued that the Tribunal was a statutory, quasi-judicial body and a local authority, and that no other remedy existed. The Court found that the Tribunal was not a private contractual arbitration, but was constituted by the FBCCI, a private body, in the light of statutory provisions rather than by the Government, so it was not strictly a statutory body. It was not a local authority under section 3(28) of the General Clauses Act, 1897. Recourse to the Director General of Trade Organisations and to the civil court remained available. All the Rules were discharged as not maintainable and the interim orders were vacated.
- Whether a writ petition under Article 102 of the Constitution is maintainable against a decision or award of the Arbitration Tribunal constituted by the FBCCI under section 20 of the Trade Organizations Act, 2022 read with rule 3 of the Trade Organizations (Arbitration Tribunal) Rules, 1981.
- Whether the FBCCI or its Arbitration Tribunal is a local authority within section 3(28) of the General Clauses Act, 1897.
- Whether an equally efficacious alternative remedy exists against the Tribunal's decision.
- The source of power is usually a decisive factor in judicial review though not the only one, and the nature of the duty also matters; a body whose power derives from contract, as in private arbitration, is not subject to judicial review.
- The FBCCI Arbitration Tribunal is not a private arbitration tribunal, since it is not constituted by the disputing parties under a contract, but it is constituted by the FBCCI, a private body, in the light of section 20(2) of the Trade Organizations Act, 2022 and rule 3 of the 1981 Rules, and not by the Government, so it is not a statutory body strictly under statute.
- Approaching the Tribunal is a pre-condition to seeking a remedy before the Director General under section 15 of the Act, and the Act does not oust the jurisdiction of the civil court, so a suit lies against the Tribunal's order once the arbitration remedy is exhausted.
- Neither the FBCCI nor the Arbitration Tribunal is a local authority within section 3(28) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 for any purpose as the law stands, since the Tribunal neither controls a municipal or local fund nor is constituted or established by the Government under any law.
- Writ petitions are not maintainable against an award or decision of the Arbitration Tribunal constituted under the Trade Organizations Act, 2022 read with the Trade Organizations (Arbitration Tribunal) Rules, 1981.
we are constrained to hold that the writ petitions are not maintainable against the award/decision of Arbitration Tribunal constituted under the Trade Organizations Act, 2022 read with the Trade Organizations (Arbitation Tribunal) Rules, 1981.
