The High Court (HC) has asked why the government’s inaction to implement a probe committee’s 17 recommendations following the Nimtoli fire won’t be declared illegal.

The recommendations were put forth by a probe panel formed by the home ministry after the 2010 fire which killed over 100 people at Old Dhaka’s Nimtoli.

The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahsan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader issued a rule on Tuesday (Feb 26) after hearing four separate writs on the matter.

Secretaries to the cabinet division, law, home and industries ministries and the Dhaka South City Corporation have been ordered to respond by four weeks.

Lawyers ZI Khan Panna, Yunus Ali Akand, Ruhul Kuddus Kajol and Md Riaz Uddin argued for petitioners while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar stood for the State.

The petitions, filed on Feb 24, sought compensation for the fire victims, relocation of chemical warehouses and the implementation of the 17 recommendations by the probe committee.