Jumbangla Desk: 19 Hare Road in Kakrail of the capital, the residence of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. The residence is more than a hundred years old. The Directorate of Archeology has started the process to declare this residence of the Chief Justice as a protected antiquities.
In view of the unexpected damage to the residence of the Chief Justice in the uprising of the students on August 5, the current Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed took initiatives to ensure the safety of the building by permanently preserving this historically important structure. In particular, the Chief Justice emphasized on how to ensure the protection of this historical structure within the existing legal framework of Bangladesh.
In view of this, by applying the provisions of the Archeology Act, 1968, the ownership and use rights of the residence are preserved in favor of the Supreme Court, and if this beautiful and nationally important structure is preserved, the structure will be considered as a national treasure in the public mind and the future generations of the country will be aware of the rich history of this structure. Keeping such goals and objectives in mind, a special meeting was held on September 25 in the meeting room of the Chief Justice's residence.
The meeting held under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice was attended by the Director General of the Directorate of Archeology Sabina Alam, Regional Director of Dhaka and Mymensingh Division and other officials of the Supreme Court Registry and Directorate of Archeology. Considering the importance and significance of this historical structure, the Directorate of Archeology has given instructions to the Director General of the Directorate of Archeology to take necessary measures to implement the decisions of the meeting in order to ensure that necessary steps are taken in this regard. The letter was sent on behalf of the Supreme Court on October 6. In that context, as part of the process of declaring the Chief Justice's residence at 19 Hare Road as a protected antiquities, the Deputy Director (Archaeology) of the Directorate of Archeology said. In a letter signed by Amiruzzaman, the Regional Director of the Dhaka and Mymensingh Division of the Directorate of Archeology was instructed to inspect the grounds of the Chief Justice's residence at 19 Hare Road and prepare a pictorial report and send it to the Directorate of Archeology.
It should be noted that the residence of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh at 19 Hare Road is one of the residential buildings that were built for high-ranking government officials when the capital of the newly formed East Bengal and Assam province was shifted to Dhaka in 1905 following the declaration of partition of Bengal. Built in 1908, this unique structure exhibits a blend of Mughal and European classical architecture.
After the abolition of the Partition of Bengal in 1911, this building has been used for various purposes, but since the early 1950s, the building has been used as the residence of the Chief Justice. If this centenary structure is declared as a protected antiquities, it will play a helpful role in preserving its heritage considering the historical importance of the building and highlighting the importance and heritage of the structure to the future generations.
