The High Court yesterday extended till July 19 its earlier order that granted bail to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mustafizur Rahman passed the order following a petition filed by Khaleda seeking extension of her bail.

The Special Judge's Court-5 of Dhaka on February 8 had sentenced the BNP chief to five years' imprisonment in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

On March 12, the HC granted four months' bail to Khaleda in the case.

Yesterday, the HC bench started hearing Khaleda's appeal, with her lawyers Abdur Razaque Khan and AJ Mohammad Ali reading out from the paper book of the case.

Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the ACC.

The court adjourned till Sunday the hearing of the appeal.

The same HC bench is set to hear four appeals in the graft case. Of the pleas, one was filed by the BNP chief seeking acquittal of the charges and another by the ACC seeking increase in Khaleda's jail term.

Two others convicts Qazi Saleemul Huq alias Qazi Kamal and Sharfuddin Ahmed filed appeals seeking acquittal of the charges.

The trial court had also jailed BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and four others to 10 years' imprisonment and fined them Tk 2.1 crore each.

APEX COURT ORDER

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday asked the HC bench, led by Justice Enayetur Rahim, to start hearing Khaleda's appeal in the graft case.

The court said any prayer seeking time would be considered if the HC could not conclude the hearing by July 31.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order in response to two petitions filed by Khaleda seeking review of its May 16 order that directed the same HC bench to conclude hearing of the BNP chief's appeal by July 31.

The apex court yesterday kept the review petitions of Khaleda standover (pending) till July 31.