High Court orders return of stones plundered from Sylhet’s Sada Pathar within 7 days

The High Court has ordered the return of white stones plundered from Sada Pathar in Sylhet’s Bholaganj to their original site within seven days and directed that a list be prepared naming those responsible for the incident.

The bench of Justices Kazi Zinat Hoque and Aynun Nahar Siddiqua issued the order on Thursday, along with rules on several related matters.

The writ petition was filed by Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

Senior advocate Manzil Morshed represented the petitioner in the case.

Morshed said that news reports on the disappearance of the white stones, valued at around Tk 2 billion, alleged that they were taken with the backing of influential figures.

The site is considered an environmentally critical area and draws thousands of tourists each year.

An application was filed seeking its designation as a protected zone under Section 5 of the Environment Act.

“This kind of looting of natural resources in broad daylight is unacceptable,” Morshed said.

The petition also cited Article 18(A) of the Constitution, which mandates the preservation of natural resources.

Following the hearing, the court issued a four-week rule asking why the administration’s inaction in preventing the extraction and removal of the stones should not be declared illegal.

It also sought to know why the area should not be preserved, declared an ecological zone under Section 5 of the Environment Act, and why those responsible should not be ordered to pay compensation equal to the environmental damage caused.

The interim order directed the defendants to recover the looted stones from several locations across the country with the help of local authorities and law enforcing agencies and to restore them to Bholaganj within seven days.

They must report back to the court in an affidavit by next Thursday.

The court also ordered five entities, including the Sylhet Jail administrator, Border Guard Bangladesh and the Rapid Action Battalion, to compile a list of those involved in the looting and submit it within 60 days.

In addition, the environment and mineral resources secretaries have been directed to form an expert committee, including a professor from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, to assess the financial loss caused by the incident and submit the findings within three months.

The local administration and defendants must also form a monitoring team to patrol the site around the clock within 48 hours and submit a compliance report to the court within two weeks.