Metropolitan Magistrate AJM Abdullahel Baqui passed the order saying that the place of occurrence is not under the court's territorial jurisdiction.

Bahadur Rahman Emteaz, a resident of Savar in Dhaka district, filed the case yesterday with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, as a "conscious citizen of Bangladesh".

The accused were Edward S Samson, chairman of Niko Resources Ltd, William T Hornaday, chief operating officer of the organisation and Qasim Sharif, president of NIKO Resources Bangladesh Ltd.

The Niko continued the operation of Chhatak gasfield without taking any reasonable preventive and post-accidental measures, Emteaz mentioned in the case.

Due to their negligence or operational failure, Chhatak gasfield blew up on June 23 and caused a lot of damage to public properties and dwelling houses in and around the field area, he added.