Show-cause notice from RAJUK

The process usually begins when RAJUK's Authorised Officer or Building Construction Committee serves a notice on the owner, occupier and person in charge. It alleges that the building, or an extra floor or extension, was built without sanction or in breach of the approved plan, and asks why it should not be removed or why work should not be stopped. The notice must give at least seven days to reply.

If it calls on the owner to show cause why work should not be stopped, construction must stop from the date of service until a final order is made.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: Reply period of at least 7 days · Law: s.3B(1), (2) and (7) Building Construction Act 1952 · Documents: Show-cause notice, Envelope or proof of service date

Tip: Stop the specified work at once. Continuing after a stop notice weakens any later petition and can itself be an offence.

Check the sanction against what was built

The lawyer compares the sanctioned plan, approval letter and any occupancy certificate with the building on site, floor by floor. The key questions are whether a valid sanction existed, which deviations are alleged, and whether they could lawfully be regularised. Demolition may be ordered only on four grounds: the work breaches the master or development plan, it cannot be brought into line with the sanction, it causes undue inconvenience to adjoining land, buildings or roads, or it could never have been sanctioned. An engineer's or architect's report is often commissioned at this stage.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 3-10 days · Law: s.3(1) Building Construction Act 1952 (prior sanction); s.34 Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha Act 2026 (no construction in RAJUK's area without the Authorised Officer's or Committee's approval); s.3B(5) Building Construction Act 1952 (grounds for demolition) · Documents: Sanctioned plan and approval letter, Land use clearance, Occupancy certificate (if any), Title deed and mutation record, Photographs of the building

Tip: Count the floors on site against the approved drawings before replying. Extra floors are the most common trigger for notices.

Reply and personal hearing

The reply answers each allegation with documents: the sanction and its date, any revised approval, evidence that alleged deviations are within tolerance, and, where needed, an offer to regularise. The Authorised Officer or Committee must consider the cause shown and give a reasonable opportunity of being heard before making an order. Where work has been stopped and cause is shown against the stoppage, the order must be made within fifteen days of the cause being shown. A failure to give a real hearing is a frequent ground in a later RAJUK demolition writ in Bangladesh.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: 1-3 weeks · Law: s.3B(3) and (4) Building Construction Act 1952 · Documents: Written reply with annexures, Engineer's or architect's report, Request for personal hearing, Receipt of filing

Tip: File the reply at RAJUK's receiving desk and keep the stamped copy. It is the proof that cause was shown in time.

Reasoned demolition or stop-work order

After any enquiry, RAJUK either vacates the notice or makes a written order, stating reasons, directing the owner, occupier and person in charge to remove or dismantle the building or a specified portion within a fixed time, or to stop further work. With a removal order RAJUK also serves a notice to vacate. Anyone who does not vacate in time can be evicted summarily, with force if necessary. RAJUK may also cancel a sanction obtained by incorrect statements or breached in its conditions.

These orders are final subject only to the statutory appeal and cannot be questioned in a civil court.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: Within 15 days of the cause shown, where work was stopped · Law: s.3B(3) Building Construction Act 1952; s.6 Building Construction Act 1952 (eviction); s.9 Building Construction Act 1952 (cancellation); s.14 Building Construction Act 1952 (civil court bar) · Documents: Demolition or stop-work order with reasons, Notice to vacate, Order cancelling sanction (if any)

Tip: Note the date of the order, not the date you received it. The 30-day appeal period runs from the order date.

Statutory appeal within 30 days

Every order under sections 3, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4, 5, 6 or 9 of the 1952 Act can be appealed within thirty days to the officer or authority prescribed by the building rules. In RAJUK's area this is an appeal committee; check the current rules for the correct forum. The appeal sets out the grounds, annexes the order and the reply, and asks for the order to be suspended pending decision. The appellate decision is final as far as the civil courts are concerned.

Using this appeal first matters, because the High Court Division usually expects an available statutory remedy to be exhausted.

Where: Statutory appellate authority (RAJUK appeal committee) · Time: Filing within 30 days; decision 1-6 months · Law: s.15 Building Construction Act 1952; Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh (alternative remedy) · Documents: Memorandum of appeal, Certified or attested copy of the order, Reply and annexures, Application to suspend the order

Tip: File within thirty days even if you plan a writ. A missed appeal is the commonest reason a writ bench sends the owner away.

Consider regularisation

Where none of the four demolition grounds applies, the law allows the owner to keep the building by regularising it. The owner must pay a fine of between Tk 5,000 and Tk 50,000 fixed by RAJUK, make the additions or alterations RAJUK directs within the time it sets, and obtain sanction on payment of ten times the prescribed fee. If the owner fails to complete these steps in time, RAJUK may order removal. Regularisation is often the quickest and cheapest outcome when the deviation is limited, such as a setback or a small extension.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: 1-6 months · Law: s.3B(5) proviso and s.3B(6) Building Construction Act 1952 · Documents: Application for regularisation, Revised drawings, Fine and fee payment receipts

Tip: Offer regularisation in the alternative in the reply. It shows good faith and narrows the issues if the matter reaches court.

Prior notice before suing RAJUK

Section 63 of the RAJUK Act 2026 requires one month's prior written notice, with a copy of the intended complaint, case or writ petition, before a case or legal proceeding under that Act or its rules is filed against RAJUK, its chairman, members or staff. The notice must state the cause of action, the complainant's name and address and the relief sought. Whether it reaches a writ against an order made under the 1952 Act has not been settled, so the safe course is to serve it and keep proof of delivery.

Where demolition is imminent and a month cannot be waited, the petition should explain the urgency and what notice was given, because the bench will expect the point to be addressed.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1 month (unless urgency is shown) · Law: s.63 Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha Act 2026 · Documents: Notice under s.63 with draft petition, Proof of delivery

Tip: Serve the notice as soon as the order is made, alongside the statutory appeal, so the month runs while the appeal is pending.

Draft, swear and file the writ petition

The petition names the Government through the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, RAJUK, its chairman and the Authorised Officer or Committee as respondents. It sets out the sanction, the notice, the reply, the order and any appeal, with every document annexed. Grounds typically include no valid notice, no real hearing, an order without reasons, a demolition ground under section 3B(5) not made out, or a regularisation request ignored. The petition is verified by affidavit before a Commissioner of Affidavits and filed with the court fee and vakalatnama, together with an application for stay.

Where: Supreme Court affidavit and filing sections · Time: 3-10 days · Law: Article 102(1) and (2)(a)(i) Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Writ petition with annexures, Sworn affidavit, Stay application, Vakalatnama, Court fee

Tip: A flat buyer or developer with a separate interest should join as a petitioner or be named, so that any stay protects them too.

Motion hearing, Rule Nisi and stay

The petition is moved before the Division Bench that hears this class of writ. If the bench finds an arguable case, it issues a Rule Nisi calling on RAJUK to show cause why the order should not be declared to have been made without lawful authority. It often stays the demolition order or directs the status quo for a fixed period, sometimes on condition that no further construction is made. Because the order affects planning and public safety, the Attorney General's office is usually heard first.

This is the decisive moment in a RAJUK demolition writ in Bangladesh.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1 day hearing, after 1-21 days in the list · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(i) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 102(4) Constitution of Bangladesh (notice to the Attorney General) · Documents: Petition and affidavit, Stay application, Photographs and engineer's report

Tip: Ask for a stay on clear terms that RAJUK and the magistrate can act on, for example 'demolition stayed for six months; status quo as to construction'.

Serve the Rule and stay on RAJUK

The court office issues notice of the Rule to each respondent, and the petitioner files requisites promptly. In practice the petitioner's lawyer also hand-delivers a certified copy of the stay order to RAJUK's chairman, the Authorised Officer, the zonal office and, where a demolition drive is planned, the executive magistrate in charge, taking receiving stamps. Article 112 obliges every authority to act in aid of the Supreme Court. Stays are granted for a fixed period, so the expiry date must be diarised and an extension sought before it lapses.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: 1-4 weeks; extensions every 3-6 months · Law: Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Certified copy of the stay order, Receiving stamps from each office, Requisites and postal costs

Tip: Keep a copy of the stay order at the building. Demolition teams often arrive without warning.

RAJUK's affidavit-in-opposition and inspection

RAJUK answers by an affidavit-in-opposition, usually annexing its inspection report, the sanctioned plan, photographs and the record of the hearing. The petitioner replies on affidavit. Because writ benches decide on affidavits and avoid disputed facts, the court may direct a joint inspection or an expert report by RAJUK, an engineering institution or a committee to measure the deviation. RAJUK may also apply to vacate the stay, for example where the building is said to be structurally unsafe or built on a flood flow zone or public land.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 2-8 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, Inspection or expert report, Application to vacate stay (if any)

Tip: Answer every measurement in RAJUK's report with your own engineer's figures on affidavit. Unanswered statements are taken as true.

Waiting for the final hearing

Once affidavits are complete, the Rule waits to appear in the bench's daily cause list. Writ benches are reconstituted from time to time, so the matter may have to be relisted. Either side may apply for early hearing: RAJUK where the building is said to be dangerous, the owner where the stay is blocking sales, bank finance or occupancy. The stay must be kept alive throughout, and the owner should not add floors or carry on works that the order restrains, since that can lead to the stay being vacated.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 6 months-4 years · Law: Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Application for early hearing (if needed), Applications to extend the stay, Compiled paper book

Tip: Diarise every stay expiry. A lapsed stay can let RAJUK enforce its order under section 7.

Final hearing: Rule absolute or discharged

At the final hearing both sides argue on the affidavits. If the order was made without a valid notice or hearing, without reasons, or without a ground under section 3B(5), the bench makes the Rule absolute and declares it without lawful authority. It often directs RAJUK to reconsider, or to process a regularisation application, within a fixed time. If the construction is plainly unlawful, for example on public land or in breach of the master plan, the Rule is discharged and the stay ends.

The judgment in a RAJUK demolition writ in Bangladesh binds RAJUK under Article 112.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-3 hearing days; judgment the same day or within weeks · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(i) Constitution of Bangladesh; Article 111 and Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Written submissions and case law, Judgment

Tip: Apply for the certified copy at once. Time for a leave petition to the Appellate Division runs from the judgment date.

Compliance, or demolition and costs

If the owner wins, the lawyer serves the certified judgment on RAJUK and follows up any direction to reconsider or regularise. If the owner loses and no stay is obtained from the Appellate Division, RAJUK may remove or dismantle the specified portion using force where needed. It recovers the cost from the owner in the same way as a fine under section 386 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Occupants who have not vacated may be summarily evicted.

In large cases the court sometimes sets the timetable for demolition and orders the owner to bear its cost.

Where: RAJUK: Authorised Officer / Building Construction Committee · Time: 1-6 months · Law: s.7(1) Building Construction Act 1952; s.6(2) Building Construction Act 1952; s.65(2) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha Act 2026 (removal costs recovered from the owner); Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Certified copy of the judgment, Covering letter to RAJUK, Notice of demolition date (if any)

Tip: If you have lost, seek a stay from the Chamber Judge before RAJUK fixes a demolition date, not after.