The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered disposing of the rule issued over a petition seeking cancellation of labor law violation case against four, including Grameen Telecom chairman and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, within two weeks.

An apex court bench, led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, passed the order in the morning and assigned a High Court Division bench led by Justice SM Kuddus Zaman to hear the rule.

Supreme Court lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun took part in the hearing for Professor Muhammad Yunus, while attorney general AM Amin Uddin stood on behalf of the state.

Besides Dr Yunus, the other three accused in the case are — Grameen Telecom managing director Ashraful Hasan, board directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

On July 23 this year, a High Court bench issued the rule asking the state to explain why the labour court order that framed charges against Dr Yunus and three others should not be scrapped, followed by an application submitted on May 19 by the noble laureate.

Earlier on June 6, charges were framed against the four.

Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case against Dr Yunus and three others on September 9, 2021, and the court had summoned the four to appear before it by October 12, 2021.

According to the case documents, a team of the DIFE went on an inspection to the Grameen Telecom and found the violations of labour laws like not regularising 101 staff and not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, among others.