Khaleda seeks scrapping of lower court order

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday filed a petition with the High Court for scrapping a lower court order that had accepted the charges against her in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.
Barrister Mahabub Uddin Khokon submitted the petition on behalf of Khaleda and prayed to the court for staying the proceedings of the case.
The High Court will hear the petition after its reopening on September 15, Khokon told The Daily Star. The HC is now on annual vacation.
In her petition, Khaleda mentioned that there was no corruption in establishing the Zia Charitable Trust and said the lower court order should be quashed.
She is now on bail in the case.
On January 15, a Dhaka court accepted the charges against Khaleda, also the leader of the opposition in parliament.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on August 8, 2011, filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station, accusing Khaleda and three others of abusing power to raise funds for the Trust.
Among the accused, Khaleda's former political secretary Harris Chowdhury is on the run while the two others -- Harris' assistant private secretary (APS) Ziaul Islam Munna and former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka's APS Monirul Islam Khan -- are on bail.
Another lower court, which is now dealing with the case, asked Khaleda on Sunday to appear before it on September 16.