HC orders confiscation of apartment building

The High Court yesterday ordered confiscation of the 18-storey tower built by Concord Group on the land of Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage in the capital's Azimpur area.

The HC directed the Group to handover ownership of the building and the land to the orphanage in 30 days. Otherwise, the government will take over its possession on behalf of the orphanage.

It also ordered the government to protect and preserve the properties of the orphanage and to develop them in the interest of the orphanage.

The court declared illegal the deeds and power of attorney given by the orphanage president and the secretary in July 2003 and April 2004 to Concord Group. Both the deeds and the power of attorney have became void ab initio (dead from birth), petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.

The HC bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque gave the judgment after hearing a petition filed by four students of the orphanage.

The petition said the two-bigha land on which the developer company constructed the commercial-cum-residential building was leased illegally.

Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a rights body, later became a party to the petition. 

Concord began the construction in 2009 and it is yet to be completed. Under the deed, the Group and the orphanage would own the building on a 68:32 basis. 

Terming the verdict epoch-making, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the president and the secretary of the orphanage managing committee committed a grave injustice by leasing out the land.

The lease by Begum Shamsunnahar Ahsan Ullah, president of the orphanage managing committee, and GA Khan, its secretary, was illegal, he added.

The top state law officer said the orphanage land could not be used for business purpose.

Despite the fact, some flats of the building have already been sold out for huge amount of money. However, tenants are yet to occupy the building as the HC issued a status quo order on it in 2013.

The then Nawab of Dhaka Sir Salimullah built the orphanage in 1909. It was later extended and run by successive governments, the petition said.

In total, the orphanage now owns 21 bighas of land.

Over the years, the government leased the land to the orphanage on condition that it cannot be used for any other purpose. Despite this condition, the president and the secretary of the orphanage handed over the property to Concord Group and they financially benefitted from it, the petitioners said.

During case hearing, the AG told the court that the Anti-Corruption Commission should sue Begum Shamsunnahar Ahsan Ullah, GA Khan and Concord Group upon an investigation.

GA Khan, a Supreme Court lawyer, is now abroad and a money laundering case should be filed against him, Mahbubey Alam told the court.

Aneek R Haque, counsel for superintendent and general members of the managing committee of the orphanage, told the court that the ownership of the orphanage land was handed over to the developer company depriving the orphans through illegal and fraudulent means.

Concord Group's lawyer Fida M Kamal argued in the court that the land was private property and there was nothing illegal in leasing it out.

The Group has bought the land legally and constructed the building with approval from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, he told the court.

Kamal could not be reached for comment yesterday, as he was out of the country.

SM Munir, counsel for Begum Shamsunnahar, said he would decide on filing an appeal against the verdict upon discussion with his client.