The High Court today issued a rule asking the government to explain in two weeks why the current hajj package that allegedly fixed excessive costs for the pilgrims should not be declared illegal.

The court asked the authorities concerned with the government to show causes why they should not be directed to allow all the international airlines operating in Bangladesh to carry the pilgrims at a competitive fare price.

The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah issued the rule following a writ petition, Assistant Attorney General Md Selim Azad told The Daily Star.

The petition was filed by Advocate Ashraf-Uz-Zaman, a Supreme Court lawyer and chief coordinator of the Al-Quran Study Centre, challenging the hajj package, said Selim.

Ashraf-Uz-Zaman told this correspondent that the religious affairs ministry on November 8 last year issued a notification fixing the hajj package for the pilgrims, which is very unreasonable and beyond the reach of general people.

The ministry mentioned in the notification that the airfare will be Tk 1,94,800 whereas the current fare is Tk 76,000 to Tk 1,10,000 on the Bangladesh-Saudi-Bangladesh route.

Every year, both governments compel the pilgrims to purchase air tickets from Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudi Airlines to give illegal benefits to these airlines, the petitioner said.

In the petition, he urged the HC to reduce and re-fix the cost of the hajj package within Tk 4 lakh per pilgrim.

Now the cost for a pilgrim is Tk 5.78 lakh as a general package and Tk 9.36 lakh as a special package, Ashraf-Uz-Zaman said in the petition.