The High Court on Thursday stayed for one month the decision of Copyright Office Bangladesh that gave copyright of 260 Masud Rana books and 50 books of Kuasha series to their ghostwriter Sheikh Abdul Hakim.
The bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohammad Ali passed the order and issued a rule in this regard on Thursday
The court issued the order after a virtual hearing on a writ filed by the original author of the thriller books, Qazi Anwar Hossain.
Advocate AM Amin Uddin and Barrister ABM Hamidul Misbah joined the hearing in favour of the writ before the court.
The court also issued a rule asking the cultural affairs secretary, Copyright Office Bangladesh, registrar of copyright, and Copyright Board to explain why the court shall not declare the June 14 decision of Copyright Office Bangladesh illegal, terming the decision beyond its jurisdiction.
Earlier on June 15, Qazi Anwar Hussain, widely respected as the prolific author of the popular spy thriller series Masud Rana, made it known that he had authored only the first 18 books of the series.
The dramatic revelation was made public following a complaint filed with the Bangladesh Copyright Office on July 29 last year by author Sheikh Abdul Hakim, claiming that 260 novels from the Masud Rana series and 50 novels from the detective series Kuasha were in fact written by him.
On June 15, Bangladesh Copyright Office pronounced its verdict in Abdul Hakim’s favour after a lengthy one-year legal battle. Previously, he was never given any credit for his works. The recognition came late to the author.
The founder of Sheba Prokashoni, Qazi Anwar Hussain, has yet to respond to media questions or file any appeal with the High Court Division of Bangladesh.
However, according to the Bangladesh Copyright Office's Registrar Zafar Raja Chowdhury, Hussain can still choose to file a plea within the next 90 days to challenge the verdict.