HC verdict today on Khaleda's plea

The High Court will decide today whether the trial proceedings of Niko corruption case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will continue at the lower court.

The bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Zafar Ahmed yesterday fixed today for announcing the verdict.

On May 28, the court had concluded its hearing on a writ petition filed by Khaleda challenging the legality of filing the case.

Meanwhile, the HC yesterday concluded its hearing on two separate writ petitions filed by the BNP chief challenging the legality of trial proceedings of Gatco corruption case.

The bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Abdur Rob kept the petitions on CAV [Curia Advisari Vult, a Latin legal term meaning verdict could be delivered anytime].

Following the petitions filed                   by Khaleda, the HC in 2008 stayed  the proceedings of the two graft  cases.

It also issued separate rules upon the Anti Corruption Commission and the government to explain why the initiations and proceedings of the cases against Khaleda should not be declared illegal. 

The ACC filed the Niko graft case with Tejgaon Police Station on December 9, 2007.

It accused Khaleda and several others of abusing power while she was the prime minister to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to the Canadian company.

Former law minister Moudud Ahmed, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former acting energy secretary Khandaker Shahidul Islam and Kashem Sharif, vice-president (South Asia) of Niko Resources Bangladesh Ltd, were also sued in the case.

The anti-graft watchdog filed the Gatco graft case against the BNP chief, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Matiur Rahman Nizami, and 11 others with Tejgaon Police Station in 2007 on charges of corruption in awarding Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Co Ltd (Gatco) a contract for container management at inland container depots in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The graft caused the state exchequer a loss of over Tk 1,000 crore.