The High Court (HC) has summoned a director of the Directorate General of Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) to explain a letter the office sent to the commerce ministry.

DNCRP Director (administration and finance) Shameem Al Mamun has been ordered to be present in court on Aug 27 to explain the directorate’s quote Tk 5 million to set up a hotline for consumer rights protection.

The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Justice Md Badruzzaman gave the order on Tuesday (Aug 20).

On Jul 16, the HC had ordered DNCRP to open a hotline to protect the rights of the consumers.

Following the order, the directorate formed a committee which drew up costs of Tk 5 million to get the hotline running.

The court summons came after the progress report of the case was submitted on Tuesday.

Several media outlets on May 3 and 4 reported that the Bangladesh Standard Testing Institution (BSTI) tested 406 food samples and found the products of 52 brands to be below the standard.

A petition was filed with the HC and on May 12 it ordered BSTI to recall those products from the market and told DNCRP to carry out the order and file a report within 10 days.