The Supreme Court on Tuesday released the full text of its verdict upholding the High Court order that had declared the BGMEA building in the capital illegal and asked the government to demolish it within 90 days.
Confirming the matter, additional registrar of the Supreme Court, Sabbir Foyez, said according to the verdict the BGMEA building will be demolished.
Earlier, on June 2, a four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, upheld the High Court order declaring the BGMEA building illegal and asked the government to demolish it within 90 days.
After the SC verdict, BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman, said “We’ll file a review petition against the Supreme Court order. About 80 percent of our export earning comes from this sector and if the building is demolished the image of the country will be hampered. We’ll request the court to reconsider the verdict.”
On April 3, 2011, an HC bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh M Jakir Hossain declared the BGMEA building illegal.
However, immediately after the verdict, the Appellate Division stayed the HC verdict for six months on April 5 on an appeal filed by the BGMEA authorities.
Later, the Appellate Division extended the stay order several times. That order remained in force in the absence of a full verdict.
The High Court in its full verdict, which was released March 19, 2013, declared the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building illegal and asked the government to demolish it within 90 days. The court directed the authorities to use the land for public welfare.
A report was published in a national daily on October 2, 2010 focusing on construction of the building without the permission of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk).
DHM Monir Uddin, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, produced the report before the court. The HC issued a suo moto rule asking to explain reasons as to why the order would not be given to dismantle the BGMEA building on October 3.
In its full verdict, the court further said Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) had given the land illegally through a written unregistered document to BGMEA in 2001.
The HC said the BGMEA has failed to become the owner of the land as the EPB, which gave BGMEA the land violating the government acquisition rule in 1998, became the owner of the land only in 2006 that was earlier acquired for Railway in 1960. –Dhaka, Nov 8 (UNB)
