SC stays HC order shutting down Mouchak Market

The Supreme Court today stayed the High Court order for six weeks that asked the authorities concerned to keep the shops at Dhaka’s Mouchak Market closed.

The apex court order came a day after the HC directed the authorities concerned to keep the shops closed until a certificate is received under the building code after the market is repaired.

Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Justice Mirza Hossain Haider today passed the order following a petition filed by Mouchak Market Shop Owners Association seeking stay on the HC order.

Following the order of the SC, shop owners can run their shops with risk for the next six weeks, Motahar Hossain, lawyer for the owner of Mouchak market building, told reporters.

The HC yesterday gave the order after a petition was filed challenging the legality of an order issued by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) for repairing the building.

Based on a report prepared by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) in September last year, Rajuk sent a letter to the market owner on May 2 this year asking to vacate the shops and repair the market immediately as it became risky.

The HC however at the same time issued a rule upon the authorities concerned to explain why the Rajuk's directives should not be declared illegal.