Land for admin cadre: SC blasts govt for not rehabilitating occupants

The Supreme Court yesterday blasted the government for acquiring a piece of land at Moghbazar in Dhaka as a vested property for the BCS Administration Multiple Welfare Cooperative Society without rehabilitating its current occupant.

"The issue of settlers has to be considered and disposed of first before their land is acquired. If we allow such acquisition of the land, then what is the necessity of this court," said Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique.

Siddique's comments came while presiding over a three-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC during the hearing of the leave to appeal petition filed by the government challenging a High Court verdict on the matter.

In 2012, the HC had declared illegal and scrapped the acquisition of 19.5 katha of land in Moghbazar, which was mutated in the name of one Sirajul Haq based on the power of attorney in 1946 by its original owner, one Birendranath Roy who had gone to India.

Haq, a freedom fighter commander, has died.

The HC verdict came following a writ petition filed by his wife Maleka Siraj and their five sons and daughter challenging the land ministry's decision to acquire the plot in favour of the BCS Administration Multiple Welfare Cooperative Society.

Such acquisition of the land will violate the people's constitutional right to their properties, the apex court said yesterday.

Following a government's time prayer, the SC fixed next Sunday for further hearing of the leave to appeal petition.

Acting on the instruction of the Dhaka district administration, the police in 2010 beat Maleka, her sons and daughter and evicted them from the land illegally, Awsafur Rahman, the writ petitioner's lawyer, told The Daily Star.

Haq's wife and children later came to know that the land has been acquired in favour of the BCS Administration Multiple Welfare Cooperative Society as vested property, the lawyer said.

In 2012, the state filed a petition with the Appellate Division challenging the HC verdict and following the petition, the apex court issued an order of status quo on the possession of the land.

The land is under the possession of the BCS Administration Multiple Welfare Cooperative Society near Ad-Deen Hospital at Moghbazar and Maleka, her sons and daughter are living nearby.

The other members of the SC bench are: Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice M Enayetur Rahim.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Additional Attorney General Mohammad Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury appeared for the government.