Moon Cinema Hall owner gets Tk99.21 crore
The apex court directed Maksudul Alam to register the land of the cinema hall to the ministry within January 5, 2020
The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs today has handed over a cheque of more than Tk99.21 crore to Maksudul Alam, the owner of Moon Cinema Hall, as per an Appellate Division order.
The apex court, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, directed Maksudul Alam, also a managing director of Italian Marble Works Ltd, to register the land of the cinema hall to the ministry within January 5, 2020.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam stood for the state party during the hearing while Barrister Ajmalul Hossain QC, along with Advocate Saifullah Mamun, was on the side of Moon Cinema Hall.
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The Moon Cinema Hall, located at the Waiz Ghat area of Old Dhaka, was declared an abandoned property during the martial law regime in 1975-1979, and appropriated by the government. It was handed over to the Freedom Fighters' Welfare Trust.
Later, during HM Ershard's government, Maksudul Alam sued the government for compensation for the property.
The petitioner challenged the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of 1979 which validated Martial Law Proclamation Orders.
In 2010, the High Court gave verdict in favour of the Italian Marble Works and ordered the government to pay compensation. This was upheld by the Appellate Division in 2012.
On December 10 last year, the Appellate Division ordered the government to pay Italian Marble Works more than Tk99.21 crore in compensation for the takeover of the cinema hall.
But the government delayed the payment because of some complications over the registration of the land.
In the end, the Appellate Division ordered the owner of Moon Cinema Hall to register the land in favour of the Freedom Fighters' Welfare Trust after both the parties reached an agreement.
