Section 144 & 145 CrPC in Bangladesh: Land Possession & Emergency Injunction Guide

In Bangladesh, property disputes routinely present dual dimensions: the underlying legal title (proprietary ownership) and physical de facto possession on the ground. While the determination of title belongs exclusively to civil courts under the Specific Relief Act 1877, the maintenance of public order and preservation of physical possession falls within the emergency statutory jurisdiction of the Executive Magistracy under the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (CrPC).

Under Chapter XII of the CrPC (Sections 144 to 148), Parliament empowered Executive Magistrates—specifically the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in metropolitan districts and Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) in upazilas—to intervene decisively when real estate disputes threaten public tranquility. These provisions do not adjudicate who owns the land; their statutory purpose is to prevent parties from taking the law into their own hands, enforcing an immediate freeze on violence, and identifying who was in physical occupancy.

Understanding how to deploy Section 144 and Section 145 enables landowners to protect ancestral homesteads, commercial plots, and vacant boundaries from sudden physical invasion while preparing permanent civil suits. For comprehensive title vetting protocols, examine our guide on land registration and title procedures in Bangladesh.

Section 144 of the CrPC confers sweeping summary powers upon an Executive Magistrate in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger. In the context of real estate disputes, Section 144 is invoked when an opposing party brings armed laborers, bulldozers, or construction materials to forcefully alter the boundary line, demolish fences, or harvest standing agricultural crops.

Key procedural features of a Section 144 land petition include:

• Ex-Parte Restraining Order: If the danger of violence is immediate, the Magistrate can pass an emergency ex-parte order on the same day the petition is filed, directing both parties to maintain strict status quo and refrain from entering the disputed land.
• Police Direction for Enforcement: The Magistrate directs the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the local police station to physically serve the order on the trespassers, maintain strict surveillance, and prevent any construction activity.
• Statutory 60-Day Ceiling: Under Section 144(6), an order issued by an Executive Magistrate remains in force for a maximum duration of sixty (60) days, unless extended by the Government by notification in the official Gazette.
• Show Cause Hearing: The opposing party is issued a show-cause notice to appear within 7 to 15 days to present their documents, allowing the magistrate to rescind, modify, or convert the proceedings.

While Section 144 provides temporary 60-day emergency relief, Section 145 of the CrPC is the dedicated statutory mechanism for resolving active possession disputes concerning land, water, or building premises. Section 145 is triggered whenever the Magistrate is satisfied from a police report or private application that a dispute likely to cause a breach of the peace exists concerning any immovable property.

The statutory proceeding under Section 145 unfolds through strict legal steps:

1. Preliminary Order (Section 145(1)): The Magistrate passes a formal order in writing stating the grounds of being satisfied regarding the breach of peace, requiring the parties to attend court and submit written statements of their respective claims regarding the fact of actual physical possession.
2. Inquiry Solely on Fact of Possession: Under Section 145(4), the Magistrate's jurisdiction is strictly confined to inquiring into which party was in actual physical possession on the date of the preliminary order. The Magistrate is statutorily prohibited from inquiring into or determining the legal title of the parties.
3. Final Declaration of Possession (Section 145(6)): If the Magistrate determines that one party was in lawful possession, the court issues an order declaring that party entitled to possession until evicted therefrom in due course of law by a competent civil court, and strictly forbidding all disturbance of such possession in the interim.

A crucial legal safeguard that protects vulnerable landowners who have already suffered physical violence is the proviso to Section 145(4) of the CrPC. Land grabbers frequently invade property at midnight, erect tin-shed structures, and then falsely claim to the court that they are in peaceful current possession.

The law explicitly anticipates and defeats this tactic:

• The Statutory 2-Month Window: Under the first proviso to Section 145(4), if it appears to the Magistrate that any party has been forcibly and wrongfully dispossessed from the property within two (2) months next before the date of the preliminary order, the Magistrate may treat the party so dispossessed as if they had been in possession on such date.
• Restoration of Physical Possession: Under Section 145(6), the Magistrate possesses full statutory authority to direct the local police to physically evict the trespassers, remove their temporary structures, and restore physical occupancy to the rightful party who was dispossessed within the two-month window.
• Strict Burden of Proof: The dispossessed owner must produce evidence (such as recent utility bills, photograph records, police GD receipts, and witness affidavits) demonstrating that their physical occupancy existed within the preceding 60 days.

A comparative overview of emergency land protection mechanisms in Bangladesh:

When a petition is admitted under Section 144 or Section 145, the Executive Magistrate does not rely solely on affidavits. The court calls for formal institutional reports that form the backbone of the judicial record:

1. Police Spot Inquiry Report (Todontoprotibedon): The Magistrate directs the local Police Station to conduct a physical visit to the disputed land. An officer of the rank of Sub-Inspector visits the plot, interrogates neighboring landowners, inspects physical boundary pillars, verifies who possesses the keys, and prepares a written report stating whether tension exists and who is in physical control.
2. AC Land Revenue Verification Report: In complex cases, the Magistrate directs the Assistant Commissioner (Land) to examine the official revenue record. The Union Land Assistant Officer (Tehsildar) inspects the CS, SA, RS, and City Jarip (BS) Khatians, verifies e-Namjari mutation records, and reports whether the government retains any Khas land interest.

Landowners must actively monitor these inquiries through their advocate. Submitting certified copies of mutation Khatians, tax dakhilas, and approved building plans directly to the investigating police officer ensures that the formal report reflects authentic factual ownership.

In situations where both parties claim physical possession and produce contradictory evidence such that the Magistrate is unable to satisfy themselves as to who was in actual possession, the law provides an emergency safeguard: Section 146 of the CrPC.

Under Section 146(1), if the Magistrate decides that none of the parties was in possession, or is unable to determine who was in possession, the Magistrate may attach the subject of dispute until a competent civil court has determined the rights of the parties or the claim to possession.

Key implications of an attachment order under Section 146 include:

• Appointment of a Receiver: Under Section 146(2), the Magistrate may appoint a Receiver (often the local Union Land Assistant Officer or a government official) to take custody of the land, harvest crops, collect commercial rents, and deposit proceeds into the government treasury.
• Exclusion of Both Parties: Both rival claimants are physically barred from entering the property. No construction, cultivation, or leasing can occur while the attachment persists.
• Withdrawal of Attachment: The attachment continues until a civil court passes an injunction decree or final judgment settling title, at which point the civil court directs the Receiver to hand over possession to the decree holder.

A critical strategic reality in Bangladeshi land litigation is that an order under Section 145 CrPC is never a final determination of ownership. It is a police power order designed to maintain order pending civil adjudication. A clever trespasser who manipulates a local police report may temporarily win a Section 145 declaration, but that order is completely subservient to a decree from a competent civil court.

To convert temporary magistrate protection into permanent legal security, landowners must coordinate two judicial tracks:

• Institution of a Civil Title Suit: File a formal Title Suit for Declaration of Title and Recovery/Confirmation of Possession before the Assistant Judge or Joint District Judge under Section 42 of the Specific Relief Act 1877.
• Application for Temporary Injunction (Order 39 Rules 1 & 2 CPC): Move an application in the civil suit for a Temporary Injunction restraining the defendant from entering the land or altering its nature. Once the civil court issues an injunction order, that civil order legally supersedes any conflicting magistrate order under Section 145.
• Criminal Revision Before Sessions Judge: If an Executive Magistrate passes an illegal order under Section 144 or 145, the aggrieved party can challenge it by filing a Criminal Revision under Section 435/439A of the CrPC before the Sessions Judge Court. Read our guide on property partition lawsuits in Bangladesh.

Illustrative scenario (composite; names and details changed): An overseas Bangladeshi engineer residing in Melbourne owned a 5-katha commercial plot in Uttara Sector 18, Dhaka, purchased through a registered Saf-Kabala deed with updated AC Land e-Namjari mutation. While the owner was abroad, a politically connected real estate broker entered the vacant plot with armed thugs, broke the boundary gate, dumped construction gravel, and claimed to hold an unverified unregistered bayna agreement.

Informed by local security, the expatriate engaged Advocate Md. Shah Alam's chamber. Our litigation team moved swiftly:

1. Filed an emergency petition under Section 144/145 CrPC before the Court of the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Dhaka, attaching certified copies of the registered title deed, mutation Khatian, and current year land tax dakhila.
2. Obtained an immediate ex-parte restraining order from the ADM directing both parties to maintain strict status quo and ordering the Officer-in-Charge of the local police station to submit an emergency Spot Inquiry Report.
3. Accompanied the police Sub-Inspector during the on-site investigation, presenting original revenue records and securing neighbor statements verifying that the client had maintained unbroken possession for over eight years.
4. When the grabbers attempted to construct a temporary boundary wall in violation of the order, moved an emergency application before the ADM, who directed police to halt construction immediately and seize the building materials.
5. Converted the interim protection into a final Section 145 declaration of possession, while simultaneously instituting a Title Suit in the civil court to obtain a permanent injunction, permanently shielding the property from further encroachment.

If your ancestral land, commercial property, or boundary premises in Bangladesh is threatened by illegal grabbing, trespass, or construction encroachment, swift intervention before the Executive Magistracy and civil courts is essential. Advocate Md. Shah Alam and his experienced land litigation team provide rapid representation across Uttara, Dhaka Metropolitan Courts, and the High Court Division.

Our principal chamber is located in Uttara, Dhaka, minutes from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, alongside our daily litigation chamber at the Dhaka Judge Court.

No. The Executive Magistrate has zero legal jurisdiction to decide proprietary title or ownership. The magistrate's authority under Section 144 and 145 CrPC is strictly confined to maintaining public peace and inquiring into actual physical possession.

Under Section 144(6) of the CrPC, an order issued by an Executive Magistrate is valid for a maximum duration of sixty (60) days, unless formally extended by a government gazette notification.

Under the first proviso to Section 145(4), if a party was forcibly and wrongfully dispossessed within two (2) months prior to the date of the magistrate's preliminary order, the court can treat them as if they were in possession and restore their physical occupancy.

Yes. An expatriate owner can file an emergency petition through an advocate or an authorized local attorney holding a duly executed and authenticated Special Power of Attorney.

If the magistrate cannot determine which party was in actual possession, the court can attach the property under Section 146 CrPC and appoint a Receiver to manage the land until a civil court determines ownership.

A civil injunction under Order 39 CPC protects legal title and can remain in force for years throughout a civil lawsuit. A Section 144 CrPC order is a 60-day police-enforced emergency measure designed to prevent immediate bloodshed and violence.

Violating an order under Section 144 CrPC constitutes a criminal offence punishable under Section 188 of the Penal Code 1860 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), leading to criminal prosecution and police arrest.

An illegal or arbitrary order passed by an Executive Magistrate under Section 144 or 145 CrPC can be challenged by filing a Criminal Revision under Section 435/439A of the CrPC before the Sessions Judge Court.