HC rejects appeal to quash MiG case

The High Court (HC) yesterday rejected detained Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina's petition for quashing a graft case against her regarding purchase of MiG-29 fighter aircraft during her tenure as the prime minister.
Following the HC verdict now there remains no bar to holding proceedings of the graft case in the trial court as the HC also vacated its earlier order of stay on the trial court proceedings of the case.
Hasina's counsel said they would move to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) seeking stay on the HC verdict.
"We will appeal on Sunday challenging the verdict," barrister Fazle Noor Taposh, a counsel of the detained AL President Sheikh Hasina, told The Daily Star after submitting a vokalatnama to the authorities of special jail on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises for Hasina's signature.
"I hope we will get the vokalatnama tomorrow [Friday]," said the lawyer adding that he could not meet the former prime minister yesterday when he went to submit the vokalatnama to the special jail authorities.
On February 9, 1999, eight MiG-29 fighter planes were procured for Bangladesh Air Force during Hasina's tenure in line with the technical assistance deal signed between Bangladesh and Russia.
Abdullah Al Zahid, an official of the now defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption (Bac), filed the MiG-29 purchase case on December 11, 2001 with Tejgaon Police Station accusing five persons including Hasina after the BNP-led four-party alliance came to power.
Charges were pressed against Hasina and six others in the case in 2003.
Hasina appealed to the HC seeking quashing of the case and the HC stayed proceedings of the case the same year.
Pending with the trial court, the MiG-29 purchase case had remained stayed since then.
Making a sudden move for quick disposal of the case, the interim government on May 28 this year appealed to the HC seeking hearing on Hasina's petition for quashing of the MiG-29 scam case.
Hearing on Hasina's appeal began before a HC bench comprising Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Ataur Rahman Khan on August 21 and both the petitioners and state lawyers made their submission in seven working days.
The HC bench delivered verdict on the petition of the former premier in two days -- Wednesday and Thursday.
There was a scrutiny committee for the task of purchase and at last a summarised report was sent to Hasina as she was the prime minister then, said Hasina's counsel in their submission during the hearing.
She did not do anything with ill motive, the counsel told the court. They also cited examples of such types of incidents in different countries.
Hasina's counsel also said the then government saved Tk 174 crore by purchasing the eight fighter planes. Although the price was fixed at Tk 289 crore the government reduced it to Tk 115 crore, they added.
The state lawyers, on the other hand, said the fighters were bought without following the rules of business.
According to the first information report (FIR), the government incurred a loss of Tk 700 crore due to the warplane purchase.
"We are not satisfied with the verdict. There are many points of law in the case which will be settled in the Supreme Court," Hasina's counsel barrister Shafique Ahmed told journalists after the verdict.
"The deal was made between the governments of two countries and the planes were bought following application by Bangladesh Air Force," said another counsel of Hasina.
Other charge-sheeted accused in the case are former army chief Lt Gen (retd) Mustafizur Rahman, ex-Air Force chief Air Marshal (retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed, retired defence secretary Syed Yusuf Hossain, Air Commodore (retd) Mirza Akhtar Maruf, retired defence joint secretary Mohammad Hossain Serniabat and businessman Noor Ali.