The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday rebuked the government for its failure to prepare an application for hearing even after its filing 12 years ago.
The government filed the application with the Appellate Division in 2012 against a High Court’s verdict that cancelled the government’s decision of awarding a plot of residential land in the capital to Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) Welfare Multipurpose Co-operative Society Limited after declaring it as abandoned property.
“It is unfortunate that the government could not be able to prepare an application for hearing even after ending of 12 years since its filing,’ a three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, came up with the comment while Additional Attorney General Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury sought fresh time for preparation.
Pointing his finger to the state counsel, the chief justice said, “We cannot keep our eyes closed when you take away one’s home and land.”
According to the case document, one Birendra Kumar Nath owned a plot of 19 decimals of land in Moghbazar.
Biren left for India and gave the property to one Siraj Commander in 1940 through a power of attorney.
Siraj later mutated the property in his name and had been living there with his family members with payment of taxes and utilities services regularly.
Suddenly in 2010, the police evicted Siraj’s family following an order from the Dhaka deputy commissioner.
Later, the property was awarded to Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) Welfare Multipurpose Co-operative Society Limited declaring it as abandoned property.
Siraj’s son filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2010 challenging the legality of evicting and declaring the property as abandoned one.
After hearing on the writ petition, the High Court declared the eviction illegal in 2012.
The government filed the application with the Appellate Division challenging the High Court verdict in the same year.
