The section 4 notice appears

Acquisition starts when the Deputy Commissioner issues a preliminary notice under section 4 of the 2017 Act, posted on or near the land, after recording the land's state by video and still images. Where land is sought for a private person or body, the Government's prior approval is needed before the process starts. The owner should photograph the notice, note the date and check whether it was served on the recorded owner.

Notice is the gateway to every later safeguard, and missing or misdirected notice is the strongest ground in a land acquisition writ in Bangladesh.

Where: The land being acquired (survey and possession) · Time: Same day · Law: s.4(1)-(2) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; s.4(3)(a) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017 · Documents: Photograph of the s.4 notice, Date of posting or service, Own photographs of structures, crops and trees

Tip: Make your own dated video of the land at once. It answers any later claim that structures were built in bad faith.

Assemble title papers and test the grounds

The lawyer checks standing and the likely forum. Standing needs title papers: deeds, record-of-rights khatians, mutation records and land development tax receipts. The lawyer then sorts the complaint. A challenge to the legality of the process, such as missing notice, an ignored objection, a decision by the wrong authority, an unlawful survey or mala fides, belongs in a writ. A complaint that the award is too low belongs to the statutory Arbitrator. Section 47 bars civil suits and injunctions against orders under the Act, so a civil suit is not available.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-2 weeks · Law: s.47 Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; Article 42 Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Title deeds and khatians, Mutation records and tax receipts, Acquisition notices and any correspondence

Tip: Verify every annexure. In 2025 the Appellate Division overturned a writ judgment that rested on a document it found fictitious.

Joint list of land, structures and crops

After the notice, the Deputy Commissioner prepares a joint list with the requiring body and the interested persons, recording rights in the land and every structure, crop and tree. Structures built in bad faith after the video record are left out. A person aggrieved by the decision to leave out such a structure may appeal to the Divisional Commissioner within seven working days; the Commissioner decides within fifteen working days, or ten for a nationally important project, and that decision is stated to be final.

An unlawful inquiry under section 4 can later be challenged by writ, as the High Court Division did on a 2026 highway project.

Where: The land being acquired (survey and possession) · Time: 1-2 months · Law: s.4(3)(b) and (4)-(11) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; Md Homayun Kabir v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 15587 of 2025 (14 July 2026) · Documents: Joint list, Appeal to the Divisional Commissioner, Proof of the date structures were built

Tip: Attend the joint survey in person and sign only what is accurate. Note any objection on the list itself.

Objection under section 5

Any interested person may file a written objection with the Deputy Commissioner within fifteen working days of the section 4 notice: for example that the land is not needed, that other land is more suitable, or that the area is excessive. Land used as a place of worship, graveyard or cremation ground is ordinarily protected under section 4(13). The Deputy Commissioner must hear the objector, inquire further if needed and report within thirty working days after the objection period, or fifteen for a nationally important project.

A timely objection is often the best evidence in a later writ that the authority ignored the owner.

Where: Deputy Commissioner's Office, Land Acquisition Branch · Time: Objection within 15 working days; report within 30 (or 15) working days · Law: s.5(1)-(2) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; s.4(13) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017 · Documents: Written objection with grounds, Proof of filing, Notice of hearing and record of the hearing

Tip: Do not skip the objection because you plan to file a writ. Benches look first at whether the statutory route was used.

Decision to acquire

The Deputy Commissioner sends the file and report to the decision-maker according to area: the Divisional Commissioner for less than fifty bighas (16.5 acres), deciding within fifteen working days, or within thirty for recorded reasons, and the Ministry of Land for larger areas, within sixty working days. If no one objected, the Deputy Commissioner decides alone, ordinarily within ten working days, and that decision is final. A decision to acquire is deemed to be for a public purpose, so a writ attacking public purpose must show mala fides or a colourable exercise of power.

A decision by an authority the Act does not name is void.

Where: Divisional Commissioner (or Ministry of Land for more than 50 bighas) · Time: 10-60 working days · Law: s.5(3) and s.6(1)-(2) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; East West Property Development (Pvt) Ltd v DC Manikganj, 13 SCOB [2020] HCD 40 · Documents: Decision to acquire, Deputy Commissioner's report on objections

Tip: Obtain a certified copy of the decision and check who signed it. The identity of the decision-maker is a live ground.

Draft the writ petition

The petition identifies the specific statutory step that failed and asks the court to declare the notice, the inclusion of the petitioner's land, the inquiry report or the decision to acquire without lawful authority, pleading Articles 31 and 42 alongside the Act. The respondents are usually the Secretary of the Ministry of Land, the Divisional Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, the Land Acquisition Officer and the requiring body. A narrow land acquisition writ in Bangladesh targeting one plot or one report succeeds far more often than one attacking a whole national project.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-3 weeks · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(ii) Constitution of Bangladesh; Articles 31 and 42 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Draft petition and annexures, Title documents, Notices, objection and decision, Survey or inquiry report

Tip: Ask for exclusion of a plot, a fresh survey or payment of a sum, not the cancellation of a whole project.

Affidavit, filing and notice to the Attorney General

The petition is verified by affidavit at the Supreme Court and filed in the writ section with certified copies of the land records. Where several co-owners petition, each signs or authorises a deponent. Because acquisition usually serves a development project, Article 102(4) requires reasonable notice to the Attorney General and an opportunity to be heard before any interim order that could prejudice development work. The lawyer serves the Attorney General's office and lists the matter before the bench assigned to land acquisition writs.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-5 days · Law: Article 102(4) Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Sworn affidavit, Vakalatnama, Certified land records, Receipt of service on the Attorney General's office

Tip: Check the current bench list. Land writs go to designated benches, which change when benches are reconstituted.

Motion hearing

At the motion the advocate shows the defect on the face of the record: a notice served on a stranger, an objection filed but never heard, a decision signed by an officer with no power, or a final gazette published decades after the proceedings began. The law officer may argue that the project is urgent, that the owner did not object, or that the real complaint is about the amount. The bench decides only whether there is an arguable case, and either rejects the petition or issues a Rule Nisi.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-21 days after filing · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh; Mrs Nilufar Hossain v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 15376 of 2023 (22 February 2024) · Documents: Petition and affidavit, Chronology of the acquisition

Tip: Move when the notice appears, not when the bulldozers arrive. Courts are wary of halting works already under way.

Rule Nisi and status quo as to possession

If persuaded, the bench issues a Rule Nisi calling on the respondents to show cause why the impugned step should not be declared without lawful authority. The most valuable interim order is usually a direction to maintain the status quo as to possession of the petitioner's land, sometimes with a stay of further proceedings for that plot only. In a case decided in April 2026, a status quo order was extended for years while the Rule was pending. Without an early order, the project may move so far that the court will not unwind it.

Where: High Court Division · Time: Same day as the motion; extended every few months · Law: Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh; Dr Nozmus Sakib v Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 8141 of 2014 (30 April 2026) · Documents: Order issuing Rule Nisi with status quo direction

Tip: Diarise the expiry of the status quo order and apply to extend it before it lapses.

Serve the order on the Deputy Commissioner

The lawyer serves certified copies of the order on the Deputy Commissioner, the Land Acquisition Officer and the requiring body, keeping receiving stamps, and files requisites so that the office can issue notice of the Rule. The owner keeps a dated photographic record of the land to prove the status quo if it is later disturbed. If the Deputy Commissioner proceeds to take possession despite the order, the petitioner can mention the matter before the bench and seek contempt proceedings.

Where: Deputy Commissioner's Office, Land Acquisition Branch · Time: 1-7 days · Law: Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 108 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Certified copy of the order, Receiving stamps, Dated photographs of the land

Tip: Serve the requiring body and its contractor too. Works on site are often carried out by them, not the Deputy Commissioner.

Affidavit-in-opposition and records

The Deputy Commissioner and the requiring body answer the Rule by affidavit, annexing the notices, proof of service, the joint list, the objection hearing record, the decision to acquire and the award. Their records usually decide the case. In a July 2026 highway case, where the respondents filed no opposition and produced no records, the court accepted the petitioners' account that their buildings pre-dated the proceedings. The petitioner replies to every factual point, and either side may file supplementary affidavits about later events, such as payment or a change in the project.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 2-12 months · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Affidavit-in-opposition, Affidavit-in-reply, Supplementary affidavits

Tip: Ask the court to direct production of the acquisition file if the opposition is silent on service of notice.

Waiting for the hearing

Land acquisition Rules often wait years for a final hearing, because benches have heavy lists and are reconstituted periodically. Throughout, the petitioner must keep the status quo order alive by timely extension applications. Events can overtake the Rule: the project may be redesigned to avoid the plot, the acquisition may lapse because the requiring body never deposited the money, or the Government may decide to pay. A party may apply for an early hearing where the delay is causing real harm.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-5 years · Law: Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh; s.14 Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017 · Documents: Extension applications, Application for early hearing (if needed)

Tip: Keep the land as it is. Building on it while the Rule is pending damages credibility and may breach the status quo.

Final hearing: Rule absolute or discharged

Remedies in a land acquisition writ in Bangladesh are usually tailored. The court may declare the inclusion of the petitioner's land without lawful authority while leaving the authorities free to start afresh in strict compliance with the law; direct a fresh inquiry under the correct provisions followed by lawful compensation; direct the Deputy Commissioner to cancel a defunct acquisition case; or suggest a minor design change to spare the plot. If the Rule is discharged, the status quo order falls away and the acquisition proceeds.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-3 hearing days; judgment same day or within weeks · Law: Article 102(2)(a) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 111 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Judgment, Application for certified copy

Tip: Read the judgment for any liberty to proceed afresh. Success may buy time and leverage rather than permanent protection.

Mandamus for unpaid compensation

Many petitions do not attack the acquisition at all but seek payment of compensation that has been assessed and not released, often years after possession was taken. Relying on the constitutional guarantee that property is acquired only under a law providing for compensation, the High Court Division has directed the Deputy Commissioner, Dhaka to pay affected persons within three months, and in July 2026 directed immediate disbursement of withheld additional compensation in Rangamati. The petitioner must show an assessed, admitted entitlement and an unexplained failure to pay.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 6 months-2 years · Law: Article 42(2) Constitution of Bangladesh; Md Lehaz Uddin v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 4959 of 2022 (17 January 2024); Emon Tanchangya v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 1724 of 2020 (30 July 2026) · Documents: Award notice and assessment roll, Correspondence demanding payment, Proof of possession taken

Tip: Write to the Deputy Commissioner demanding payment before filing. The unanswered demand supports the mandamus.

Compliance and payment under protest

The successful petitioner serves the certified judgment on the Deputy Commissioner and the requiring body and asks for compliance within the time fixed. Where compensation is paid, the owner should accept it under written protest as to the amount, because a person who accepts without objection cannot later apply to the Arbitrator. The owner then has forty-five working days from the award notice to apply to the Arbitrator if the amount is disputed, which is a separate track from the writ.

Where: Deputy Commissioner's Office, Land Acquisition Branch · Time: 1-6 months · Law: s.11(2) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; s.30(1) Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Certified copy of the judgment, Payment receipt signed under protest, Arbitration application (if amount disputed)

Tip: Write the protest on the receipt itself and keep a copy. This is the most avoidable mistake owners make.