The High Court issued a contempt of court ruling against the two mayors of Dhaka North and South city corporations and the chairman of Rajuk for not complying with the order of the High Court.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir issued the ruling on Tuesday after hearing an application filed in public interest.
The mayors and Rajuk chairman have been asked to respond to this rule within four weeks.
Advocate Manzil Morsed said that although there is provision for car parking in the layout plan approved by Rajuk for constructing buildings along the road in Dhaka city, many building owners have business establishments/shops/residences in the designated car parking space. They are parking their cars on the road in front of the building causing severe traffic jams in Dhaka city.
Lawyer Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury filed a writ in the High Court on behalf of Human Rights Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) to remove traffic congestion on the road.
After hearing that writ, on July 3, 2019, the High Court issued a notice in the newspaper and ordered the removal of illegal structures from the car parking area. The High Court bench comprising Justice Govinda Chandra Thakur and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the verdict.
In the verdict, the court ordered the defendants (mayors of Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations, chairman of Rajuk) to remove the shops/businesses/establishments from the car parking area of the building within six months and directed them to recover its cost from the owners.
The verdict also directed the defendants to maintain normal traffic flow on the road. At the same time, the court ordered to submit a progress report on the matter.
A notice was issued on behalf of HRPB due to their non-compliance of these directions of the court. The notice requested action within seven days. However, because no action was taken to resolve the traffic situation, a contempt of court complaint was filed in the High Court.
