The Appellate Division’s chamber court has stayed a High Court order allowing 15 fishermen to fish in the Bay of Bengal for six months, a move the state says will prevent them from using the order to violate fishing restrictions.

Chamber Judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order on Saturday after hearing an application filed by the secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajol, Additional Attorneys General Arshadur Rouf and Anik R Haque represented the state during the hearing.

After the hearing, Kajol said the stay would prevent the fishermen from catching fish in prohibited areas or using prohibited methods by citing the High Court order.

The 15 fishermen had filed a writ petition alleging that law enforcement agencies, including the Coast Guard, harassed them and seized their fishing nets while they were fishing at sea.

On July 6, the High Court issued a rule and directed the authorities not to obstruct the petitioners from fishing for six months through an interim order.

However, Kajol said the petitioners had withheld information about their use of prohibited fishing methods.

He said the fishermen had allegedly been using the High Court order to defy the government’s ban on catching hilsa and catch other fish as well.

Additional Attorney General Rouf said the petitioners had sought permission to fish using modified trawlers, behundi nets and floating nets.

He said behundi nets had been prohibited since 2013, while the use of floating nets for hilsa fishing had been banned since 2020.

Rouf alleged that the petitioners concealed these restrictions when filing the writ petition. As a result, they were able to show copies of the High Court order to the Coast Guard and police during enforcement operations and continue fishing.

The chamber court’s stay would prevent them from using the High Court order to justify fishing in violation of the law, he added.