High Court Fines Khagrachhari Brick Kiln Association for Withholding Information on Eviction Stay
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The High Court has imposed a 50,000 taka fine on the Khagrachhari District Brick Kiln Owners Association for concealing a stay order from the Supreme Court while attempting to extend a temporary injunction against an eviction operation. A bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury issued the order on Monday, mandating that the penalty be paid to the Supreme Court Registrar within 15 days.
The court further dismissed the association’s writ petition after counsel for the petitioners expressed a desire to withdraw from the case. The bench has instructed that copies of the order be served to all relevant defendants.
The legal proceedings trace back to January 13, when the High Court initially issued a rule and granted a six-month injunction against the eviction of 19 brick kilns in Khagrachhari. However, following an appeal by the Environment Secretary, the Supreme Court’s Chamber Judge stayed the High Court’s injunction on March 5.
Senior lawyer Manzill Morshed, representing Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), informed the court that the association failed to disclose the Appellate Division’s stay order when filing for an extension of the injunction on July 6. Morshed formally brought the oversight to the High Court’s attention on Sunday, exposing the omission during the hearing.
When the matter came up for consideration on Monday, lawyer Parvez Hossain, appearing for the brick kiln owners, stated that he was unaware of the suppression of facts and requested to discontinue the case. Following the dismissal of the petition, the court moved to penalize the association for its conduct.
The underlying legal battle originated in 2022, when HRPB filed a public interest litigation seeking the demolition of illegal brick kilns across the three hill districts of Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachhari. In response to the initial petition, the High Court had ordered the immediate eviction of the illegal structures in January 2022.
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