Dhaka, May 05 (V7N) – The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld a High Court verdict that quashed a trial court’s status quo order concerning the residence rights of Shamsunnahar Begum, mother of former International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) prosecutor Turin Afroz, and her brother Shishir Ahmed Shahnewaz Ahmed, allowing them to continue residing in their five-story Uttara house.

A five-member Appellate Division bench, led by Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury, delivered the order on Monday (May 5), effectively reinforcing the High Court's earlier ruling from February 20.

Barrister Sajjad Haider, assisted by Advocate Saiful Islam Jobayer, represented Shamsunnahar and Shahnewaz in court. Additional Attorney General Anik R. Haque appeared for the state, while Lawyer Akhtar Hamid argued for Turin Afroz.

The High Court’s earlier verdict, passed by Justice Md. Selim, found the trial court’s status quo order to be inappropriate and thus declared the rule in favor of Shamsunnahar and Shahnewaz as valid.

Background of the Dispute

Shamsunnahar and her son Shahnewaz had been living at the disputed property at Plot No. 15, Road No. 11, Sector No. 3 in Uttara since 2002. However, they were reportedly evicted in 2017 by Turin Afroz, allegedly using her influence.

Turin Afroz had argued in the trial court that her mother, Shamsunnahar, became the legal owner of the property in 1991 and that the following year, Shamsunnahar gave power of attorney to her husband, Taslim Uddin, who in turn gifted the property to Turin in 1994.

Conversely, Shamsunnahar and Shahnewaz submitted to the court that no such gift deed from Taslim Uddin existed. Instead, Shamsunnahar herself executed a gift deed in favor of her son Shahnewaz in 1997, following which the property was registered in his name, and a loan of BDT 2.5 million was secured from the House Building Finance Corporation in 1999 for its development. The structure was built in accordance with RAJUK approval, and they had resided there without interruption until 2017.

With the Appellate Division now siding with the High Court's verdict, Shamsunnahar Begum and Shishir Ahmed Shahnewaz Ahmed can legally continue residing in the house, effectively ending years of legal dispute over the ownership and occupancy rights.

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