Pre-emption (Agrokroy) Case in Bangladesh: Who Can File, the Time Limit and How a Buyer Can Stay Safe

In this guide: What is a pre-emption (agrokroy) case? · Who can file a pre-emption case? · Time limit and deposit: how much money must you deposit? · How a pre-emption case runs in court · How can a buyer stay safe from a pre-emption case?

The short answer

A pre-emption case lets a co-sharer buy back land that another co-sharer sold to an outsider. For agricultural land the law is section 96 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950. Since 2006 only a co-sharer by inheritance can apply. You must file within two months of being served notice of the sale, or of learning about it, and never more than three years after the deed was registered. With the application you must deposit the full price in the deed, plus 25% compensation and 8% simple yearly interest. Non-agricultural land follows a different Act with different rules.

What is a pre-emption (agrokroy) case?

Pre-emption is a right to step into a buyer’s shoes. If a co-sharer sells an undivided share to someone outside the holding, another co-sharer can ask the court to transfer that share to them on payment of the price. The idea is to keep jointly held family land from being broken up by strangers.

Three sources of law can apply, depending on the land:

Section 96 does not apply to homestead land (s.96(16)). Whether a plot is agricultural, non-agricultural or homestead is often the first point argued in a case, so check the khatian, the deed and the actual use of the land.

Who can file a pre-emption case?

Agricultural land (s.96). The 2006 amendment narrowed the right. Today the applicant must be:

• a co-sharer tenant in the same holding by inheritance, not someone who bought into the holding; and
• a person who may lawfully buy the land under section 90, which sets the land ceiling.

The sale must also be to a person who is not a co-sharer in the holding. A sale from one co-sharer to another co-sharer cannot be pre-empted. Owners of neighbouring land have no right under s.96.

Non-agricultural land (s.24). Any co-sharer tenant can apply, including one who became a co-sharer by purchase. Some transfers are excluded, such as a transfer to a co-sharer who inherited, an exchange, a partition, a wakf, and a gift (including heba) to a spouse or close blood relative.

Muslim law (haq-shufa). Classical Muslim law also gives a right of pre-emption to co-owners and, in some cases, neighbours, but only if formal demands are made immediately and before witnesses. Courts treat these formalities strictly, and claims on this basis are uncommon. Take advice before relying on it.

Time limit and deposit: how much money must you deposit?

Time limit under s.96. File within two months of the date the notice of sale was served on you under section 89 of the same Act. If no notice was served, file within two months of the date you came to know of the sale. In any case, no application can be made after three years from the registration of the sale deed. Missing these dates ends the claim.

Deposit under s.96(3). At the time of filing you must deposit in court:

1. the price shown in the notice or the sale deed;
2. compensation of 25% of that price; and
3. simple interest at 8% a year on the price, from the date the deed was executed to the date of filing.

Example: the deed shows Tk 10,00,000 and you file 18 months after execution. Compensation is Tk 2,50,000 and interest is Tk 1,20,000, so you deposit Tk 13,70,000. The court may later ask for more to cover rent the buyer paid or improvements they made.

The deposit must be complete when you file. In Civil Revision No. 4517 of 2023 (judgment of 16 July 2025) the High Court Division set aside a pre-emption order because only part of the money was deposited at first and the rest was added later without the court’s leave.

Non-agricultural land (s.24): four months from notice or knowledge, with the price plus 5% compensation.

How a pre-emption case runs in court

1. Check your district. In districts where mandatory pre-case mediation is in force, pre-emption disputes go first to the District Legal Aid Office. Because the time limit is short, take advice on this at once.
2. File the application in the civil court that would hear a suit for possession of that land. Make the buyer and every other co-sharer by inheritance a party (s.96(2)).
3. Deposit the full amount at the same time.
4. Notice and joining. The court notifies the buyer and co-sharers. Other co-sharers can join within the time the law allows; anyone who does not join loses the right.
5. Enquiry and order. The court hears the parties, checks what the buyer spent, and decides. If several co-sharers succeed, the land is shared among them.
6. Sale deed. The buyer must execute and register a deed in favour of the successful co-sharer within 60 days, with no tax or fee for that registration. If the buyer does not, the court executes it. The court can also put the pre-emptor in possession.

The buyer is paid out of the deposit. Either side can appeal to the ordinary civil appellate court, and after that a civil revision may lie to the High Court Division.

How can a buyer stay safe from a pre-emption case?

A buyer cannot remove a co-sharer’s legal right, but careful buying and a good defence make a real difference.

Before you buy:

• Check the khatian and the family tree to find every co-sharer by inheritance. See what to check before you buy land.
• Where possible, buy from all the co-sharers together, or buy after a registered partition (bontonnama).
• Make sure the section 89 notices are lodged and served at registration, so the two months start running, and keep proof.
• Write the true price in the deed. The pre-emptor deposits the deed price, so understating it only reduces what you get back.
• Keep receipts for land tax and any improvements; the court can order these repaid.

If a case is filed, a lawyer will check: whether it was filed in time; whether the full deposit was made with the application; whether the applicant is a co-sharer by inheritance; whether you were already a co-sharer; whether the land is homestead or non-agricultural; whether the transfer was really a sale; whether all necessary parties were joined; and whether the applicant waived the right. A genuine gift or exchange is not a sale under s.96, but a “gift” that is really a paid sale can be treated as a sale. Do not use paperwork tricks.