Govt pays Moon Cinema Hall owner Tk 1 billion in cheque

The government has paid a cheque of nearly Tk 1 billion at the current value of the land of the Moon Cinema Hall in Old Dhaka to its owner in line with the court order.

The Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust handed the cheque to Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd’s Managing Director Maksudul Alam on Tuesday in a much-talked about case judged by the appellate bench of four headed by the chief justice.

To get back the ownership of the land lost 48 years ago, Maksudul Alam filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2000 challenging the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution that validated Martial Law Proclamation Orders between 1975 and 1979.

Later, the top court declared the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution unlawful in a landmark verdict.

As part of the process, it ordered Maksudul Alam to register the land of Moon Cinema Hall to the Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust. Further orders over the issue are scheduled for Jan 5, according to lawyers.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General Bishawjit Debnath represented the state, while Azmalul Hossain QC and Saifullah Mamun represented Moon Cinema. Md Moinul Islam was the legal counsel for Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust.

On Dec 10 last year, the Appellate Division ordered the Bangladesh Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust to pay the Moon Cinema Hall owner over Tk 990 million -- the present-day value of its land and establishments built there. It ordered the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs to pay the amount by June this year.

The government issued a cheque in favour of Maksudul Alam and presented it to the court on Jun 30. But the cheque handover was deferred due to the objection raised by Toufique Newaz, the legal counsel for Italian Marble Works Ltd. The court then ordered the issuance of the cheque in favour of the company, not any person.

Both parties took time as complication surfaced over land registration. On Aug 25, the Supreme Court ordered the registration of Moon Cinema Hall in favour of the Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust.

The Moon Cinema Hall owned by Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd was declared abandoned during the 1971 Liberation War.

The industries ministry later appointed Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust as its custodian. But the managing director of Bangladesh Italian Marble Works claimed the ownership of the property, stalling the move.

Italian Marble Works filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2000 challenging the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution that validated Martial Law Proclamation Orders between 1975 and 1979.

BNP founder and former President Ziaur Rahman announced a decree in 1977 that blocked challenges against the government’s decisions to declare properties abandoned.

The High Court in a historical verdict on Aug 29, 2005 declared the taking of power by Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed, Justice Abu Sadat Mohammed Sayem and Maj General Ziaur Rahman unconstitutional and unlawful.

On Feb 2, 2010, the Appellate Division upheld the High Court verdict and ordered the Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust and other government bodies to pay Moon Cinema the amount within 90 days.

The authority of Moon Cinema filed a case on contempt of the court against six people, including the then land secretary, the liberation war affairs secretary and the managing director of Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust.

The cinema hall was handed over to the welfare trust in 1972 which the trust had given to real estate developers in 2001 with a symbolic price of Tk 1, the state told the court during the hearing. The developers then demolished the main cinema hall and constructed a multi-storey building and sold off their part of the building to the present shop owners, the state said during the hearing.

It is not possible anymore to return the Moon Cinema Hall to its previous owner in its earlier state but the present market price of the land and main structure can be paid, the attorney general said.

The Appellate Division assigned Prof Jamilur Reza to determine the prices of land and establishment of Moon Cinema. He submitted a report mentioning Tk 990 million as the present day value of Moon Cinema land and establishment.