Freedom Fighter Trust to pay Tk99 crore over Moon Cinema Hall

The Supreme Court has ordered Bangladesh Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust to pay Tk99 crore to the owners of Moon Cinema Hall in Old Dhaka. A five-member bench of Appellate Division led by acting chief justice Abdul Wahhab Miah passed the order on Thursday. The Appellate Division instructed the Freedom Fighter Trust to pay Tk99 crore in three instalments – two of Tk25 crore over four months, and the rest to be paid by July 30. The order was regarding the ownership of Moon Cinema Hall, which was owned by Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd before the 1971 Liberation War. The cinema hall was declared abandoned afterwards, and appropriated by the government which later gave it to Bangladesh Freedom Fighter Welfare Trust. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh in 1979 by Ziaur Rahman stipulated that any government appropriation of abandoned property could not be later challenged. Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd filed a writ petition in 2000 with the High Court challenging the Fifth Amendment. In 2005, the High Court ruled the Fifth Amendment unconstitutional. A government appeal in 2010 failed to change the decision and the Freedom Fighter Trust was asked to return the property to Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd within 90 days. Later in January 2017, the Supreme Court asked authorities to assess the value of the land and other establishments on it, which was carried out by Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury.This article was first published on banglatribune.com