Hearing on Khaleda’s graft cases deferred
A Dhaka court today deferred until September 3 the hearing on Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases.
Judge Basudev Roy of the Special Judge Court-3 passed the order after Taherul Islam Towhid, a counsel for Khaleda, submitted two separate petitions seeking adjournment of the hearing in the cases.
In the petitions, the defence lawyer said the Supreme Court fixed September 1 as the next date of hearings on four appeals filed by Khaleda with the Appellate Division seeking a stay on a High Court.
On April 23, an HC bench scrapped two petitions, in which the former prime minister had challenged the charge framing against her in the cases.
Later on June 19, another HC bench rejected two writ petitions filed by Khaleda questioning the legality of appointment of Bashudev Roy as judge of the Special Judge's Court-3 of Dhaka.
Roy indicted the BNP chief and eight others in the corruption cases on March 19 and she filed the petitions against Roy's appointment on May 12.
"I pray for the adjournment of the hearings as the appeals are now pending with the Supreme Court," the lawyer told the court today.
The court asked the defence lawyer to submit any order on the four petitions that remain pending with the SC or take initiatives for Khaleda’s appearance before it on September 3.
ZIA ORPHANAGE GRAFT CASE
The ACC in July 2009 filed the Zia Orphanage graft case against Khaleda, her elder son and BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman and four others for embezzling over Tk 2.1 crore by forming the “fake” trust.
The four other accused are former BNP lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and Momenur Rahman, nephew of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.
ZIA CHARITABLE TRUST GRAFT CASE
The ACC on August 8 in 2011 filed the Zia charitable graft case against Khaleda and three others for abusing power in setting up the charity.
The three other accused are Harris Chowdhury, Khaleda's former political secretary, Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary (APS) of Harris, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
Harris is absconding while Monirul and Munna are on bail.
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