SC upholds Khaleda indictment
The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, upholding a lower court’s charge framing order against her in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
Hours after the order, Khaleda submitted two petitions with the High Court expressing no confidence on Special Judges Court-3 of Dhaka Judge Basudev Roy, who framed charges against Khaleda and eight others in Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.
Judge Bashudev Roy of the special court on March 19 framed charges against Khaleda and eight others in the two graft cases. The High Court on April 23 upheld the indictment order rejecting Khaleda’s petitions.
SC REJECTS KHALEDA’S PLEA
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain rejected the appeal filed by Khaleda challenging a High Court verdict that had upheld the indictment order by the trial court in the graft case.
The four other judges are Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Justice Md Wahhab Miah, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik.
After the SC passed today’s order, the Anti-Corruption Commission’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for Special Judge's Court-3 of Dhaka for recording deposition of the witnesses in the two graft cases tomorrow.
On November 24, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a lower court to continue the trial proceedings against Khaleda in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, dismissing her two appeals.
Khaleda had filed the appeals with the Appellate Division, challenging two High Court decisions -- one to accept charges against the seven accused, including the opposition chief and her elder son Tarique Rahman, and another to allow charge framing in the case.
NO-CONFIDENCE PETITIONS
In the petitions, Khaleda said she lost confidence on Judge Basudev Roy and prayed to the HC for directives upon the government to transfer the cases from Basudev’s court to another court.
The petition said that she may not get fair trial from the court as the judge did not ask her whether she was guilty or innocent before framing charges against her in the graft cases.
She also prayed to the HC to stay the trial proceedings of the corruption cases, Barrister AKM Ehsanur Rahman, a lawyer for Khaleda told The Daily Star.
Today, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, a lawyer for Khaleda, placed the petitions before the HC bench of Justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq and Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury for hearing the petitions, Ehsanur said.
The bench will hear the petition at a convenient time, he said.
Ehsanur also said they will seek time from the court of Basudev Roy as their no confidence petitions were pending with the HC.
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