Four rights activists have served a contempt of court notice on Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha chairman Md Riazul Islam, Dhaka South City Corporation administrator Mohammad Azaz and Gulshan Youth Club president Wahiduzzaman Tamal.
They have been asked to open the Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Smriti Park (also known as Gulshan Central Park) to public within three days, or face legal action for violating a Supreme Court directive.
The notice, sent on Tuesday by lawyer Nishat Mahmood on behalf of five civic activists, urged immediate action.
The five activists are Constitution Reform Commission member Firoz Ahmed, lawyer Syed Mahabub Alam Tahin, Professor Adil Mohammed Khan of Jahangirnagar University, environment activist Amirul Rajiv, and Save Tentultala Field Movement coordinator Syeda Ratna.
鈥榃e ask you to demolish the illegal Gulshan Youth Club structures within seven days, open the park to public within three days, and cancel the operator鈥檚 agreement immediately,鈥� the notice stated.
鈥楩ailing this, contempt proceedings will be initiated,鈥� it warned.
The High Court on August 31, 2022, rejected a writ petition filed by Gulshan Youth Club president Wahiduzzaman Tamal in which he had challenged a Rajuk order from March 5, 2013 instructing the demolition of illegal structures on plot 130A of Gulshan Avenue and removal of trespassers.
That land, previously part of Wonderland Park, had been illegally occupied by the Gulshan Youth Club, according to the verdict.
The High Court had upheld Rajuk鈥檚 authority as the rightful owner of the park, not Dhaka City Corporation or its administrators.
In 2008, the Appellate Division had already ruled that Dhaka City Corporation had no ownership claim over Gulshan Model Town or the park.
The court also declared any lease granted to the club president without Rajuk鈥檚 approval as illegal.
Despite clear verdicts from both the High Court and the Appellate Division, the activists say that the respondents have continued to act in violation of the law.
They allege that the DSCC administrator called for expressions of interest from private operators to manage 17 parks and playgrounds, including plot 130A.
On January 17, 2024, the DSCC again appointed Gulshan Youth Club as the operator of the park.
The contempt notice claims this move directly defies the Supreme Court鈥檚 earlier rulings and contributes to the loss of public access to green spaces, harming public health.
The notice states that although the activists repeatedly informed the authorities about the 2022 High Court order, they failed to comply.
It further accuses the Rajuk chair, DSCC administrator, and the club president of 鈥榳illful and deliberate disobedience鈥� of court orders.
The activists now demand full restoration of the park as a public space, in line with the court鈥檚 directives.
