Land Survey Appeal Tribunal to be formed within 90 days: High Court

The High Court has directed the authorities concerned to set up a Land Survey Appeal Tribunal within 90 days for disposal of appeals against judgements, decrees and orders in land survey cases.

The Land Ministry has been asked to implement the order within this period and submit a report to the court. The Land Ministry Secretary has been asked to submit the report.

A High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice M Ashraful Kamal has passed the order after disposing of a suo moto rule in this regard.

The 11-page verdict was published on the Supreme Court's website on Monday.

On July 25 last year, the High Court had given a verdict, declaring the suo moto rule as appropriate.

The Section 2 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy (Amendment) Act 2004 speaks about the formation of land survey tribunals and a Land Survey Appeal Tribunal.

As per the law, land survey tribunals have been set up in the country, but there is no Land Survey Appeal Tribunal as yet.

As a result, thousands of justice seekers, aggrieved by the verdicts, decrees and orders of the land survey tribunals, have to come to the High Court.

In observation of the verdict, the High Court said, "Since the Land Ministry has failed to set up an appeal tribunal for 15 long years - from 2004 to last year (2019) - millions of people have been plunged into extreme and endless miseries. Everyone expects the government to implement its own law in an appropriate and timely manner."

The verdict also indicated that the Minister and Secretary of the Land Ministry would be asked to explain their inability to form an appeal tribunal for over 15 years.

Owing to the failure to establish an appeal tribunal, people's basic rights are being infringed and they are being deprived of justice, it also said.

"The ministers and the secretaries of the land ministry have behaved inhumanely, cruelly and unpardonably with the people by not appointing judges for the appeal tribunal. The present Minister and Secretary will immediately take necessary steps on the people's behalf, with written explanations from all the responsible ministers and secretaries concerned."

During the 2015 hearing of a writ petition challenging a judgement by the Land Survey Tribunal, the High Court found there was no Land Survey Appeal Tribunal in the country.

Later, on March 3 that year, the High Court issued the rule on its own volition.