PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL)

1. Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
2. Khadija Begum
3. Abdul Mannan
4. Abdul Kader
5. Anwara Begum
6. Alamgir Hossain
7. Md. Alam
8. Humayun Kabir

1. Secretary, Ministry of Communication, Railway Division
2. Commissioner, Bangladesh Railway
3. Deputy Commissioner Land and Divisional Estate Offiocer, Bangladesh Railway
4. Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer, Bangladesh Railway
5. Police Commissioner, Dhaka Metropolitan Police
6. OC, Tejgaon Police Station, Dhaka

BLAST filed a writ petition along with the slum dwellers of the F. D. C. Gate area of Tejgaon, who had been living in the vacant and abandoned premises of Bangladesh Railway for 27 years and paying rent to the railway authority. The petitioners applied for allotment or lease of the premises, and were granted license to stay there on payment of rent assessed. They also paid for electricity and water supplies. From 19.08.2001 onwards the Railway Authority along with police officers made several attempts to evict the dwellers from their homestead and threatened their eviction through announcements across the area.

The High Court Division issued a direction on 11.11.2001 on the respondents to show cause as to why the threatenedeviction of the slum dwellers from peaceful possession without due process of law should not be declared illegal and without lawful authority.

Mr. Justice T. R. Modassir Hossain

Mr. Justice Md. Syed Mahmud Hossain