Rule for contempt of court issued against Unilever

Staff Reporter :

The High Court has issued a rule for contempt of court against one of the country’s leading multinational companies, Unilever Bangladesh, for violating a court order. Following a case filed by two aggrieved business entities, the High Court asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against Unilever’s authorities.

A dual bench comprising Justice Fahmida Kader and Justice Md. Asif Hasan passed the order. The court directed four officials—Chairman Javed Akhtar, CEO and Managing Director Ruhul Quddus Khan, Finance Director Zinia Haque, and Head of Customer Business Development Sadman Sadikin—to respond to the rule. The court will issue further orders on January 7.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Ali Azgar Faisal, told journalists on Tuesday (December 23) that the marketing firms Agrani Trading Corporation and Masud & Brothers have been marketing and distributing Unilever products for nearly two decades. However, in July, Unilever authorities unilaterally issued a notice terminating the agreement through a letter. Aggrieved by this, the two firms served an arbitration notice seeking the appointment of an arbitrator in accordance with the contract terms.

Ali Azgar Faisal further said that when Unilever refused to participate in arbitration, Agrani Trading Corporation and Masud & Brothers filed an application with the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge’s Court seeking an interim injunction to prevent the termination letter from taking effect and to restrain Unilever from appointing any other distributor in their place. He said the court did not hear the application and instead adjourned the hearing until January 28, 2026. Subsequently, the two firms filed a petition in the High Court Division, and on September 23 the court ordered maintenance of the status quo regarding the termination letters and the appointment of any third party as distributor. Aggrieved by this, Unilever authorities filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division, but the court passed no order.

Despite the status quo order remaining in force, Unilever Bangladesh authorities allegedly violated the High Court’s order by appointing a new third-party distributor and by failing to supply products to the two firms as required. Consequently, the High Court Division issued the rule for contempt of court, lawyer Ali Azgar Faisal added.