Khagrachhari Brick Kiln Owners' Association Fined Tk 50,000 by High Court
The High Court has fined the Khagrachhari District Brick Kiln Owners' Association Tk 50,000 for concealing information about a stay order from the Appellate Division and seeking an extension of a previous injunction. The court ordered the fine to be paid to the Supreme Court Registrar within 15 days. The bench, comprising Justices Razik-Al-Jalil and Devasish Roy Chowdhury, also discharged the rule related to the writ petition after the association requested not to pursue it further. The court directed that copies of this order be sent to all respondents. Senior advocate Monjil Morshed argued for Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRBP), while lawyer Parvez Hossain represented the writ petitioners. The writ petition was filed by the district association on behalf of 19 brick kiln owners in Khagrachhari. Initially, on January 13, the High Court issued a rule and granted a six-month interim injunction against eviction. However, on March 5, the Appellate Division's chamber court stayed this injunction following an application by the Secretary of Environment. Despite the Appellate Division's stay order, the Khagrachhari District Brick Kiln Owners' Association applied on July 6 to extend the injunction, failing to inform the High Court about the stay. Senior lawyer Monjil Morshed brought this concealment to the court's attention on Sunday. When the matter was heard on Monday, the petitioner's lawyer, Parvez Hossain, stated he was unaware of the information concealment and no longer wished to proceed with the case. Consequently, the High Court imposed the fine and discharged the rule. This action is part of a broader public interest litigation initiated by HRBP in 2022 to evict illegal brick kilns in the three hill districts: Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachhari. An earlier High Court order on January 25, 2022, had directed the eviction of these illegal kilns.
This case highlights a critical issue of legal process integrity, where a party's attempt to extend an injunction without disclosing a superior court's stay order led to a significant penalty. The High Court's decision underscores the principle that transparency and adherence to the hierarchy of the judiciary are paramount. The penalty serves as a deterrent against similar attempts to mislead the court, reinforcing the importance of full disclosure in legal proceedings. Moving forward, such actions could prompt stricter judicial oversight on applications involving prior stay orders, potentially leading to more robust verification mechanisms within the legal system to prevent procedural manipulation and uphold the rule of law.
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