"Yunus has been continuing in his job with no legal basis, therefore his petition (challenging his sacking) has been rejected," High Court judge Muhammad Mamtaj Uddin Ahmed told the court.

"Also, the managing director is an officer of the bank, and the mandatory retirement age for bank officers is 60, so he has also exceeded his retirement age long ago," he said.

Yunus, 70, was removed from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank last Wednesday but defied the order, returning to work and lodging the High Court case challenging his dismissal.