Dhaka, June 25 -- The Chamber Court of the Appellate Division on Thursday has ruled that there is currently no legal bar to foreign investment in the exploration of oil, gas and other mineral resources in the deep sea of the Bay of Bengal, staying an earlier High Court order on the matter.

The chamber court fixed June 29 for a hearing before the full bench of the Appellate Division.

The latest order allows the government's offshore bidding round and the participation process of foreign companies to continue for the time being.

Earlier, the High Court had issued a rule and several directives after holding a preliminary hearing on a writ petition challenging the legality of allowing foreign companies to explore oil, gas and mineral resou...