Civil Revision No. 2060 of 2026 High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh | Mr. Justice Md. Zakir Hossain
A former trustee of the celebrated NGO of Bangladesh Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK), filed Civil Revision No. 2060 of 2026 challenging concurrent orders of the trial court (08.08.2023) and appellate court (17.10.2024) that had refused his prayer for a temporary injunction in Title Suit No. 372 of 2023. He sought to restrain Late Professor Altafunnessa and Dr. Abul Kasem Chowdhury from administering GK, alleging that a supplementary trust deed (No. IV-80, dated 15.12.2011) bearing his name as executant was fraudulently fabricated. On 05.07.2026, the High Court issued a Rule and, ex parte, stayed the operation of three (3) supplementary deeds of 2008, 2011, and 2025.
Dr. Abul Kasem Chowdhury (Opposite-Party No. 2) applied to vacate this stay, arguing suppression of material facts. He pointed out that a CID forensic investigation into the Petitioner’s own criminal complaint (CR Case No. 702/2023) had matched the disputed signature and thumb impression on the 2011 deed to the Petitioner’s genuine specimens, finding no forgery. He further showed that the Petitioner had voluntarily resigned as trustee on 24.08.2024, a fact corroborated by a police investigation (accepted by the Magistrate on 07.11.2024) which found no coercion and instead detailed allegations that the Petitioner had obstructed GK’s operations, misappropriated funds, and resigned amid public backlash during the July Revolution. None of this had been disclosed when the stay was obtained.
At the final hearing (11.08.2026), these findings featured centrally. The Court held that a registered deed carries a presumption of correctness rebuttable only through evidence at full trial, and that the CID’s forensic and handwriting expert opinions though not conclusive by themselves cast serious doubt on the Petitioner’s case at the interlocutory stage. The Court further held that the Petitioner had approached without ‘clean hands’ by withholding these adverse expert findings, and that the balance of convenience favoured GK, a longstanding public charitable institution whose operations would be gravely disrupted by an injunction.
Result: On 20.08.2026, the Court discharged the Rule without costs, dismissing the Civil Revision and recalling and vacating the earlier stay order of 05.07.2026, thereby affirming the concurrent findings of the lower courts and clearing the way for GK’s trustees to continue administering the trust pending final disposal of the underlying suit.
Gonoshasthaya Kendra legal team during the hearing was led by Junayed Chowdhury, Senior Advocate with Ameer Faysal Rohan, Senior Associate and Tashfia Aziz and Md Shafiuddin Jihad, Associates, Vertex Chambers.
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