The High Court has directed the government to halt the eviction of Kalyanpur slum in the capital, issuing a stay order on the drive for three months.
The court yesterday also asked the government not to harass or arrest any slum dwellers without any specific allegations.
The bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty passed the order following a writ petition filed by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
Sarah Hossain, a lawyer for the ASK, said the High Court issued a restriction on the eviction of Kalyanpur slum 10 years ago.
But the government ignored the order and carried out the drive anyway.
Yesterday, the ASK moved to the court with a copy of a letter issued by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to the police authorities seeking help to evict the slum.
In 2003, when the ministry took an initiative to evict the slum from Kalyanpur, the Ain O Salish Kendra and two slum dwellers filed a writ with the High Court.
On December 28 that year, a vacation bench of the court stayed the eviction drive and issued a ruling.
In 2004, a regular bench of the court too passed the same order.
In 2006, the ministry again issued a letter to evict the slum and the ASK again moved to the court, which passed a stay order on the eviction drive on June 25 that year.
Extending the stay order several times, on January 17, 2007, the High Court extended the stay order’s time until the disposal of its previous ruling.
As the ministry on January 10 this year once again issued a letter to the police for assistance in a fresh eviction drive, the petitioners moved to the High Court with a supplementary petition which finally led to the fresh stay order yesterday.
This time the court has asked the ministry, the IGP, authorities of Housing and Building Research Institute and Dhaka’s chief judicial magistrate to implement its order.
