Hatirjheel-Begunbari project: SC puts status quo on HC order to evict structures

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today (November 7, 2022) directed the authorities concerned to maintain status quo on a High Court verdict over evicting business structures in Hatirjheel-Begunbari project in Dhaka.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order following a leave to appeal petition filed by Rajuk (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha) challenging the HC verdict.

Other judges of the bench are Justice Md Nuruzzaman, Justice Obaidul Hassan, Justice Borhanuddin and Justice M Enayetur Rahim.

The apex court also set the petition for hearing at the top on the serial.

Following the SC order, no structure can be evicted from Hatirjheel project until its further order, Rajuk’s lawyer Imam Hasan and writ petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.

The HC on June 30 last year had delivered a verdict to this issue following a writ petition filed by lawyer Ripan Barai on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh on September 9, 2018. The petition challenged the legality of the construction work there.

On May 24 this year, the HC released the full text of the verdict declaring Hatirjheel-Begunbari project as a “Public Trust Property”.

In the 55-page full text verdict, the court directed the government to evict all business structures within the project in 60 days.