The High Court on Tuesday ordered the authorities to submit within 30 days a list of those who have occupied land owned by Bangladesh Railway in different parts of Bangladesh.
The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a petition filed by a human rights organization.
Senior Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Md Saifuddin Khaled represented the state.
The court also issued a rule asking the government to explain why the inaction of the respondents to free the land of Bangladesh Railway should not be declared unlawful and directives should not be given to evict the land grabbers.
The secretary of the Railways Ministry, director of Bangladesh Railway and assistant land officers have been made respondents to the rule, which is returnable in two weeks.
It also wanted to know how much land owned by Bangladesh Railway is occupied by land grabbers.
Advocate Manzill Murshid, said in 2016, a writ petition was filed seeking directives to evict encroachers from land of the railway in Narayanganj. Later, a number of reports were published over the encroachment of railway land in Sirajganj, Bogra, Pabna and other districts.
Hundreds of acres of land of Bangladesh Railway are occupied due to the involvement of some unscrupulous railway officials, and these lands needed to be freed from occupation, he said. It is possible only through the intervention of the court, he added.