DHAKA: Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman and former Communications Minister Anwar Hossain Manju finally won the final battle for ownership of the oldest Bangla Daily Ittefaq.

The High Court bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Govinda Chandra Thakur granted the appeal from Saju Hossain for withdrawal of the writ that she filed earlier for her name as publisher.  

The withdrawal paved the way for Manju to get back the ownership and the right to use his name as the editor and the publisher of the daily.

During the Caretaker government’s regime, the daily was published with Rahat Khan as its editor and Saju Hossain as the publisher.

Manju’s name had been there as the editor-publisher for long before that.

The Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka issued a letter on March 25, 2009, declared dropping off Manju’s name as the editor-publisher illegal. In response, Saju filed a writ on April 5 and challenged its legal ground.

Manju’s lawyer Barrister Rabeya Jamali told banglanews24.com.bd that the withdrawal paved Manju’s way to be the editor-publisher of the daily.

The two brothers - Barrister Mainul Hosein, advisor of former Caretaker Government and former Communications minister Anwar Hossain Manju fought for long over the ownership of the daily.

Both of them reached a consensus mediated by their lawyers on May 2 this year.

Mainul left the ownership for cash but got the building where the daily was situated.

The daily, in the mean time, left the old building and began to publish from a new address.

BDST: 1759 HRS, JULY 8, 2010