The High Court on Sunday issued a contempt of court rule against the chairman of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and four other officials over a move to lease out land along the Karnaphuli River, allegedly in violation of earlier court directives.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Asif Hasan issued the rule following a contempt petition filed by the rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The five officials named in the rule are CPA Chairman SM Moniruzzaman; Additional Secretary (Administration) Md Habibur Rahman; Member (Finance) Md Shahidul Alam; Member (Engineering) Commodore Kausar Rashid; and Assistant Manager of the Port Authority’s Estate Department Mohammad Rayan Uddin.
The court also ordered a stay on all further activities related to the land under BRS Dag No-601 of Firingi Bazar Mouza.
HRPB lawyer Manzil Murshid told the media that in an earlier verdict on a writ petition filed by the organisation, the court had issued several directives instructing authorities to protect the Karnaphuli River in accordance with official survey records.
He alleged that, despite those directives, the CPA decided to lease out a portion of the river, officially recorded as river land, to the Chattogram City Corporation.
