No bar in running trial of Khaleda: HC

The High Court yesterday cleared the lower court concerned to run trial proceedings against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Niko graft case.

The HC rejected a petition, which Khaleda filed earlier on March 19, challenging a lower court order that framed charges against her and seven others in the corruption case.

The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam passed the order after hearing on the matter.

On May 17, the BNP chairperson filed the revision petition with the HC through her lawyers to scrap the trial court order, saying the charges were framed illegally.

The ACC filed the case on December 9, 2007, accusing Khaleda and several others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko when she was prime minister between 2001 and 2006.

Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin and AJ Mohammad Ali and lawyer Kayser Kamal appeared for Khaleda, while Additional Attorney General Mohammad Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury and Senior Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan represented the state and ACC, respectively, during the hearing.