Judge Mohammad Rezaul Karim of the Court of Third Joint District Judge on Monday handed down the verdict at a packed courtroom following a case filed by Fatema Rahman and five others for violating the court order that asked the real estate firm to maintain status quo regarding the sale of a piece of land.

The court also ordered the authorities to attach moveable and immovable property of the MD, Syed Nasiruddin.

The court said Fatema and five others purchased 30 kathas of land in Joarsahara area in the capital from the company on January 18, 1998. But the company attempted to sell the same land to others instead of handing over its possession to the purchasers.

This prompted the landowners to file a civil suit on November 26, 2002 against the managing director and six others for allotment of the land. They also sought a temporary injunction on the real estate company in a bid to prevent it from selling the land to others.

The court further said the company contested the suit and the court passed an order directing the company to maintain a status quo. But the company sold 1.03 acres of land to the managing director of East-West Property Development Company Ltd. Later, the plaintiffs filed a suit against Syed Nasiruddin on July 9, 2003 for violation of the order.