Land Acquisition Writ in Bangladesh: Grounds, Remedies and Compensation in 2026

Land acquisition writ: the legal framework in 2026

A land acquisition writ is often the only tool that can stop a Deputy Commissioner from taking land without following the law, or force the state to pay compensation it has already promised. The Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017 gives the government wide power to acquire private property for public purposes, but it also sets out a sequence of notices, objections, decisions, awards and payments that must be followed in order. When that sequence breaks, the High Court Division can step in under Article 102 of the Constitution.

This guide explains when the writ jurisdiction is available against acquisition proceedings, the grounds that succeed, the remedies the court actually grants, and the mistakes that cost owners their case. It draws on recent judgments of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, including decisions delivered in 2025 and 2026, and on the structure of the 2017 Act itself.

Summary: Compulsory acquisition in Bangladesh is governed by the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017, which replaced the 1982 Ordinance. The High Court Division will intervene by writ where notice was never served, objections were ignored, the wrong authority decided, compensation was withheld or the process was tainted by mala fides. Disputes about the amount of compensation usually belong to the statutory arbitrator instead.

Key point: The courts separate two kinds of complaint. A challenge to the legality of the process, such as missing notice or an unlawful final decision, is classic writ territory. A complaint that the award is too low generally has to go to the arbitrator under the 2017 Act first, and an owner who accepts payment without protest may lose that route altogether.

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Table of Contents

Land acquisition writ: the legal framework in 2026

Article 42 of the Constitution guarantees the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and allows compulsory acquisition only under a law that provides for compensation.[1] That law is now the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017, enacted on 21 September 2017 to repeal and re-enact the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Ordinance 1982.[2] The Act was passed in part because the Appellate Division's annulment of the Seventh Amendment had left martial-law ordinances, including the 1982 Ordinance, on uncertain footing.

The Act is organised in five chapters: acquisition, requisition, arbitration and miscellaneous provisions, after a preliminary chapter. The acquisition chapter runs from the preliminary notice in section 4, through objections in section 5, the final decision in section 6, notice to interested persons in section 7, the Deputy Commissioner's award in section 8, the matters relevant and irrelevant to compensation in sections 9 and 10, payment in section 11, and acquisition and possession in section 13. Section 14 deals with cancellation or withdrawal of proceedings, and sections 16 and 17 with acquisition for private persons or bodies.[2]

Where the writ fits

Article 102 lets the High Court Division declare that an act of a public authority was done without lawful authority and is of no legal effect, or direct an authority to do what the law requires, where no other equally efficacious remedy exists. Our overview of writ petitions in Bangladesh explains the jurisdiction generally. In acquisition cases, the writ is used both defensively, to quash an unlawful notice or final decision, and positively, to compel payment of compensation that the authorities have assessed but not released.

How acquisition works under the 2017 Act

Understanding the statutory sequence is the starting point for any land acquisition writ, because almost every successful challenge identifies a specific step that was skipped or performed by the wrong person.

Preliminary notice and joint survey

Proceedings begin with a preliminary notice under section 4(1), published at conspicuous places on or near the land. Where land is to be acquired for a non-government person or body, prior government sanction is required. The Deputy Commissioner then prepares a joint list of interested persons and existing structures, crops and trees, and changes made in bad faith after the proceedings start are not recorded.[3] A person dissatisfied with the joint list can appeal to the Divisional Commissioner within seven working days, and that decision is stated to be final.[3]

Objections and the final decision

Objections to the acquisition itself must be lodged with the Deputy Commissioner within fifteen working days under section 5(1). The Deputy Commissioner hears them and sends a report within thirty working days, or fifteen for a nationally important project. Where the land exceeds fifty standard bighas, the record goes to the Ministry of Land; for smaller areas, to the Divisional Commissioner. The government then has sixty days, and the Divisional Commissioner fifteen, to decide.[3]

Award, payment and possession

After the final decision, the Deputy Commissioner issues notice to interested persons and prepares the award. Compensation is based on market value with an additional premium: 200 per cent on top of market value where the acquisition is for a government body, and 300 per cent where it is for a non-government organisation.[3] When the Act was approved in draft, the cabinet described this as three times market value for government acquisitions and four times for private requiring bodies, with market value drawn from average local prices over the previous year.[4] Payment must be made before possession is taken.[3]

Grounds for a land acquisition writ

The High Court Division does not sit on appeal over the government's choice of project. It asks whether the authority acted within the Act, followed the procedure the Act prescribes and respected the owner's constitutional rights. The grounds below are the ones that have carried recent cases.

No notice to the recorded owner

Notice is the gateway to every other safeguard. Without it, the owner cannot object, cannot appear in the joint survey, cannot be entered in the compensation roll and cannot seek arbitration. In Dr Nozmus Sakib v Bangladesh, decided on 30 April 2026, the High Court Division found that the petitioner's predecessors were recorded tenants yet received no notice at any stage, were omitted from the compensation assessment roll, and saw the final gazette published nearly forty years after the proceedings began. The court declared the inclusion of the petitioner's 1.2366 acres in the acquisition to be without lawful authority, while leaving the authorities free to start afresh in strict compliance with the law.[5]

The same principle applied under the 2017 Act in Mrs Nilufar Hossain v Government of Bangladesh, where a section 4 notice for a metro rail station entry point had been served on a third party with no connection to the petitioner. The court held that this was not service under the Act, that the process was tainted with jurisdictional error and that it violated Articles 31 and 42, and made the Rule absolute. It also suggested a minor design adjustment so the plot would not be affected.[6]

Decision by the wrong authority

Only the authority the statute names can take the final decision. In East West Property Development (Pvt) Ltd v Deputy Commissioner, Manikganj, the High Court Division held that, under the legacy regime, only the government could decide to acquire; a Deputy Commissioner who proceeded because no objection had been raised had no such power. With no valid government decision and the old proceeding having become non-est on repeal, the court directed the Deputy Commissioner to cancel the decades-old land acquisition case.[7] The 2017 Act allocates final decisions by size of land, so the identity of the decision-maker remains a live ground.[3]

Ignored objections and unlawful surveys

A survey or inquiry that ignores the statutory test can be quashed. In Md Homayun Kabir v Government of Bangladesh, decided on 14 July 2026 in connection with the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil four-lane highway project, the respondents had treated the petitioners' buildings as built in bad faith to inflate compensation. The petitioners said the structures pre-dated the proceedings. With no affidavit-in-opposition or records produced, the court declared the inquiry report under section 4(3)(a) unlawful and directed a fresh inquiry under sections 4(3)(a) and 4(7), followed by payment of lawful compensation.[8]

Mala fides and fraud

Proceedings started without a genuine assessment of public purpose, or for a collateral motive, may be declared to have been taken without lawful authority.[3] Fraud cuts both ways, however. In Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong v Interbulk Overseas SA Bangladesh Ltd, decided on 21 May 2025, the Appellate Division set aside a 2014 High Court Division judgment that had struck down an acquisition for a coal power plant jetty, because the writ petitions relied on a purported prime ministerial note that the Division found to be fictitious. Applying the principle that fraud unravels everything, it allowed all four appeals.[9] Any land acquisition writ built on documents that cannot be authenticated is exposed.

Compensation delays and the writ of mandamus

The most common land acquisition writ today is not a challenge to the acquisition at all. It is an application to compel payment. Projects are redesigned, budgets are delayed, requiring bodies fail to deposit funds and Deputy Commissioners hold money while title disputes are sorted out. The constitutional guarantee of compensation gives the court a firm basis to intervene.

What the court orders

In Md Lehaz Uddin v Government of Bangladesh, concerning the Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake Development Project in Korail, the delay had been caused by status quo orders in other litigation, changes in the project and inclusion of slum residents. RAJUK had since deposited part of the funds released by government. Relying on the constitutional guarantee of compensation, the court directed the Deputy Commissioner, Dhaka to pay the affected persons within three months.[10]

In Emon Tanchangya v Government of Bangladesh, decided on 30 July 2026, landowners in Rangamati had received 115 per cent of the value of land acquired for a driving training centre and a science and technology university, but not the remaining 35 per cent of additional compensation. During the hearing the government decided to pay. The court disposed of both Rules in the light of that decision and directed the respondents to take immediate steps to disburse the money.[11] The writ worked because it forced a decision that had been stalled for years.

Delays are still widespread

Payment problems are not confined to old cases. In August 2026, landowners whose land was acquired for the Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans reported that roughly a third of the assessed value remained unpaid, citing administrative complications, unpaid land revenue and ownership litigation. The Deputy Commissioner said documents were still being verified.[12] Where an owner can show an assessed and admitted entitlement and an unexplained failure to pay, a mandamus petition is usually the fastest route.

When a writ is the wrong remedy

A land acquisition writ is powerful, but it is not a substitute for the statutory machinery. Filing in the wrong forum wastes months and can foreclose the right remedy.

Disputes about the amount

The 2017 Act has its own arbitration chapter. Arbitrators at the level of Joint District Judge determine disputes over the sufficiency of compensation, title and apportionment, with an appeal to an officer at District Judge level.[3] [4] Section 38 excludes the Arbitration Act 2001 from these proceedings.[2] A writ bench will usually decline to re-value land when this specialised route is available.

The protest trap

An owner who receives compensation must do so under protest to preserve a claim that the amount is insufficient; one who accepts without protest cannot apply to the arbitrator on that ground.[3] This is the single most avoidable mistake we see. Sign the receipt with a clear written protest, and keep a copy.

Suits and finality

Section 47 of the 2017 Act places restrictions on filing suits, and certain decisions in the process, such as the Divisional Commissioner's decision on joint-list appeals, are stated to be final.[2] [3] Finality clauses do not oust the constitutional writ jurisdiction for decisions made without jurisdiction or in breach of natural justice, but they narrow the space for challenges on the merits.

Remedies the High Court Division grants

Remedies in a land acquisition writ are usually tailored rather than absolute. The recent cases show four patterns.

• Declaration of illegality: the notice, inclusion of the land, or final decision is declared to be without lawful authority, as in the Nozmus Sakib and Nilufar Hossain cases.[5] [6]
• Liberty to proceed afresh: the court often leaves the state free to start again lawfully, so success may buy time and leverage rather than permanent protection.[5]
• Fresh inquiry: where a survey or inquiry was flawed, the court directs a new one under the correct provisions and then payment of lawful compensation.[8]
• Time-bound payment: mandamus directing the Deputy Commissioner to pay within a fixed period, commonly three months.[10]

Interim relief matters as much as the final result. In the Nozmus Sakib case the court ordered the parties to maintain the status quo as to possession, which was extended for years while the Rule was pending.[5] Without an early status quo order, a project can move so far that the court is reluctant to unwind it.

Step-by-step: preparing a land acquisition writ

Successful petitions are built on documents, chronology and a precise statement of which statutory step failed. The sequence below reflects how TRW prepares these cases.

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Keep the petition narrow. A Rule that targets a specific notice, report or omission is easier to grant than one that attacks an entire national project. The Nilufar Hossain court stressed that its judgment did not deal with the project as a whole, only the petitioner's land.[6]

Choosing the right forum

The table below compares the main routes available to an owner affected by acquisition. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Many matters need more than one route at once: an objection under section 5 to protect the record, a payment taken under protest, an arbitration claim on quantum and a writ on a jurisdictional defect. Our land acquisition practice and constitutional and writ litigation practice work together on these files. For the wider statutory process, see our guide to land acquisition in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes in land acquisition writ cases

• Waiting for possession: by the time bulldozers arrive, the project has momentum and the court is wary of halting public works. Move when the section 4 notice appears.
• Skipping the statutory objection: the record of a timely section 5 objection is often the strongest evidence that the authority ignored the owner.
• Accepting payment without protest: this can extinguish the right to dispute the amount.[3]
• Weak title papers: without khatians, mutation records, tax receipts and deeds, the petitioner cannot show standing. Where land may be recorded as government land, review our guide to the khas land writ.
• Unverified documents: the Interbulk decision shows that a single unauthenticated annexure can destroy a judgment years later.[9]
• Asking for too much: a request to stop a whole project invites refusal; a request to exclude a plot, redo a survey or pay a sum is more likely to succeed.

What to watch in 2026

Large infrastructure programmes, from highways to power and port projects, continue to generate acquisition disputes, and the judgments delivered in 2026 show the High Court Division applying the 2017 Act with care: insisting on notice, testing survey reports against the statutory text and pressing authorities to release compensation already assessed.[5] [8] [11] Owners should expect the court to protect process rather than block projects. The practical value of a land acquisition writ lies in forcing the state to acquire lawfully and pay promptly.

If you have received a section 4 notice, been left out of a compensation roll or are still waiting for money years after possession was taken, act early. Contact TRW to review your documents and the strongest route.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file a writ against a land acquisition notice in Bangladesh?

Yes, where the notice or the process behind it breaches the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017 or your constitutional rights, for example where notice was served on the wrong person. The High Court Division can declare it without lawful authority under Article 102.[6]

Which law governs compulsory acquisition of land in Bangladesh?

The Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017, which repealed and replaced the 1982 Ordinance.[2]

How long do I have to object to an acquisition?

Objections must generally be filed with the Deputy Commissioner within fifteen working days of the preliminary notice under section 5(1).[3]

How is compensation calculated under the 2017 Act?

On market value plus an additional 200 per cent for government acquisitions and 300 per cent where the requiring body is non-government.[3] [4]

Can the High Court order payment of delayed compensation?

Yes. The court has directed Deputy Commissioners to pay affected owners within fixed periods, such as three months, and to disburse withheld additional compensation.[10] [11]

Should I challenge a low award by writ?

Usually not. Disputes over the sufficiency of compensation go to the statutory arbitrator under the 2017 Act, with an appeal to an officer of District Judge rank.[3]

What happens if I accept compensation without protest?

You may lose the right to apply to the arbitrator on the ground that the amount is insufficient. Always accept under written protest.[3]

Will a successful writ stop the acquisition permanently?

Not necessarily. The court often leaves the authorities free to restart the process in strict compliance with the law.[5]

Can I get a stay while the writ is pending?

The court can order the parties to maintain the status quo as to possession pending the Rule, and may extend that order over time.[5]

What documents do I need for a land acquisition writ?

Title deeds, khatians, mutation records, tax receipts, the acquisition notices, any objection you filed, survey or inquiry reports and correspondence about compensation. Every annexure must be genuine and verifiable.[9]