Dhaka, May 4 -- The constitutional and legal validity of the recently signed Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) between Bangladesh and the United States has been challenged in the High Court.

Lawyer Mohammad Maidul Islam Polok filed a public interest litigation petition to that end on Monday, with Advocate Subir Nandi Das representing him in court.

The secretaries of the ministries of foreign affairs, finance, and commerce have been named as respondents.

The petition is expected to be placed for a hearing on Tuesday before the High Court bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury.

The trade pact, signed by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government on Feb 9 -- just three days before the general election -- has drawn...