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The HC on June 5, 2017, rejected the petition and upheld the lower court judgement, ordering BIWTA and the launch owners’ association to pay a total of Tk 17.11 crore in compensation to victims’ families.

Each family of the deceased would get Tk 10 lakh, and every injured victim would get Tk 1 lakh, the HC ruled.

BITWA and the launch owners’ association jointly filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the SC’s Appellate Division in 2019, seeking a stay on the HC verdict.

The chamber judge of the SC on September 2, 2019, sent the petition to its full bench and set March 8, 2020, for hearing.

However, the apex court has not held any hearing on the petition as the lawyers concerned did not take any extensive initiative to this end.

Advocate Ishrat Hossain, a lawyer for the petitioners, said her clients will not give any further compensation until the SC disposes of the petition and issues directives, as her clients had given money to the victim families immediately after the incident.

Contacted, ZI Khan Panna, a lawyer for Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), which is a party in the case on behalf of the victims, said he was unsure whether BITWA and the launch owners’ association have given any compensation to victim families, as an appeal filed by them is pending with the SC’s Appellate Division.

“We will fight for upholding the HC verdict when the Appellate Division holds hearing on the appeal,” he said, adding that such naval accidents take place due to violation of the relevant provisions of law.