In a ruling, the High Court (HC) questioned why it is not unlawful to include extra expenses in the 2024 Hajj package.
The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), the director general of the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, the secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism have all been asked to react with the rule within the next two weeks.
Following the hearing of a writ petition on Monday, the High Court bench consisting of Justices Mustafa Zaman Islam and Md Atabullah issued the ruling.
The writ was advocated in court by lawyer Parvez Hossain.
He said that the purpose of this writ is to lower the excessive taxes, flights, and house rent that are included in the package, as well as travel expenses in Saudi Arabia.
Besides, pilgrims cannot be transported without designated airlines. The legitimacy of this monopoly has also been challenged.
The court asked why the rule would not override the statutory authority to impose additional costs on the 2024 Hajj package and would not direct all international airlines to carry Hajj pilgrims.
Prior to this, on November 2, 2023, the government revealed two packages for the government-managed Hajj in 2024.
This will cost Tk5,78,840 for the basic package and Tk9,36,320 for the special Hajj package.
The total cost of the airfare for both packages was Tk 1,94,800.
