Chamber judge sends Harijan Colony eviction case to full appeals bench

There will be no eviction for now as the judge refused to stay the High Court order that stopped the drive

The residents of Miron Jalla Harijan City Colony in Dhaka's Aga Sadek Lane will be able to live there for now as the chamber judge of the Supreme Court has sent the case to the full bench of the Appellate Division.

Chamber judge Justice M Enayetur Rahim on Monday set Jul 4 for the full bench hearing of Dhaka South City Corporation’s petition seeking a stay on a High Court order that had the eviction drive stopped.

A report titled 'Students Prevented Eviction by Protesting, Residents in Fear' was published in the Bangla daily Prothom Alo on Jun 12.

The following day, Supreme Court lawyers Manoj Kumar Bhowmik, Utpal Biswas, and Aynun Nahar Siddiqua filed a writ petition, attaching the report and requesting necessary instructions.

Manoj told hbdnews24.com the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Md Atabullah issued the one-month stay order on the eviction after hearing the writ petition on Jun 13.

During this period, the DSCC was instructed to provide temporary shelter for the colony residents on vacant state land.

Later, the DSCC filed a petition seeking permission to challenge the High Court order.

Advocate Murad Reza represented the DSCC, while Sara Hossain represented the petitioners. She was accompanied by Manoj, Utpal, Aynun, and Dulal Mallick.

Later, lawyer Manoj told bdnews24.com the chamber judge also upheld other orders passed by the HC.

DSCC lawyer Murad told reporters the city corporation had built two multi-storied buildings for Harijan community employees, and they were relocated there.

The colony stands on a property stretching 1.32 hectares. The DSCC is on the move to build a modern grocery store using 27 decimal of the land, which is currently home to hundreds of Harijan families.

A part of the land already has a marketplace for the residents of the colony.