HC orders handover of Salam Murshedy’s Gulshan house

The High Court has published its full verdict instructing that the house of former Awami League MP Abdus Salam Murshedy in Gulshan-2 of the capital be declared abandoned and handed over to the government. The order was signed by the High Court bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadot Hossain.

The 52-page verdict was uploaded on the Supreme Court website on Tuesday, December 8. More than a year after the initial directive, the court published the full verdict, terming the occupied residence as “abandoned property”.

Earlier, the court directed that the property be handed over to the government within three months through representatives of the housing and public works ministry. The High Court delivered that verdict last year after final hearing of a writ petition.

The verdict also instructed the housing and public works secretary to submit a report, in the form of an affidavit in compliance, to the court through the registrar of the High Court division within fifteen days of taking possession of the property. In addition, the court directed the government to take possession of the house within ninety days. The court further ordered that the property must not be leased to private parties and instead be preserved for public interest.

On 30 October 2022, barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ seeking investigation, claiming that Murshedy had been occupying a house listed under category-B of abandoned properties.

Abdus Salam Murshedy is currently in prison in connection with a murder case.