The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Dhaka South City Corporation to provide alternative accommodation for the sweepers鈥� community before evicting them from Miranzillah Harijan Colony in Old Dhaka.
The court questioned the city corporation鈥檚 lawyer, Murad Reza, about the fate of the sweepers if they were evicted without alternative arrangements.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, at a human chain in Dhaka on the same day, announced nationwide protests on Saturday against the聽 recent attack on the Miranzillah Colony.
A five-judge bench, chaired by chief justice Obaidul Hassan, came up with the remarks during the hearing of a petition filed by the city corporation, seeking permission to appeal against a High Court directive from June 13, prohibiting the eviction of sweepers without providing alternative housing.
The Appellate Division also upheld its Wednesday鈥檚 order, which maintained the status quo on the eviction of the century-old sweeper community residents.
It also instructed the High Court bench, chaired by justice Farah Mahbub, to resolve a writ petition filed by lawyers Manoj Kumar Bhowmick, Utpal Biswas, and Aynunnar Siddiqua, challenging the legality of conducting evictions without making alternative arrangements for accommodation, within two months.
On June 13, the High Court had asked the corporation to explain within four weeks why the eviction of Miranzillah Harijan Colony residents, without rehabilitation, should not be declared illegal.
Human rights lawyer Sara Hossain, along with her junior Aneek R Haque, representing the sweepers, informed the Appellate Division that the corporation had started evicting sweepers on July 9, defying a High Court order that prohibited eviction without prior rehabilitation.
The court granted the city corporation 30 days to provide the sweepers with alternative accommodations.
The eviction drive was halted following a status quo order issued by the Appellate Division on Wednesday after lawyer Sara Hossain brought the matter to the court鈥檚 attention.
The city corporation鈥檚 lawyer explained that his client was evicting some family members of the sweepers from a 27-decimal portion of the total 3.27-acre land to construct a kitchen market.
In the human chain programme, leaders of the BHBCUC called on the Dhaka South City Corporation authority to refrain from evicting the sweeper community from the Miranzillah Colony without proper relocation.
The Bangladesh Juba Oikya Parishad, youth front of the council, organised the human chain in front of the National Press Club with its president Shimul Saha in chair, protesting the recent attack on colony dwellers.
Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the council, stated that the Harijans had been living in the sweeper colony for over 400 years. So, the city corporation had no right to evict them without providing alternative accommodation.
He also mentioned multiple High Court verdicts that prohibited the eviction of Harijans without relocation.
Rana also announced that the council would hold nationwide protests on Saturday against the attack.
The religious minority leaders of the community accused local commissioner Mohammad Awal Hossain and his associates of attacking the colony dwellers Wednesday noon, injuring women and children.
鈥楾he city corporation is planning to build a market in the area, which would require the eviction of the Harijans,鈥� they said.
Central leaders of the unity council, including Monindra Kumar Nath, Jayanta Kumar Deb, and Juba Oikya general secretary Tapos Kanti Bol, also spoke at the programme.
The event concluded with a protest procession that paraded through various city roads.
