The government will file two separate leave to appeal petitions with the Supreme Court this week challenging the High Court bail orders for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in two criminal cases filed in Comilla, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star today.

The attorney general said his office has already prepared the draft of the leave to appeal petitions and is waiting for the certified copies of the HC orders that granted bail to Khaleda Zia.

“We will receive the certified copies of the High Court orders within a day or two and then we will submit the leave to appeals to the Supreme Court,” Advocate Mahbubey Alam said.

On May 28 of this year, the HC granted bail for six months to Khaleda in two cases.

One of the cases was filed in connection with vandalising vehicles in Comilla's Chouddagram area on January 25, 2015. The other was filed over killing seven people and injuring around 25 others by setting fire on a bus in Chouddagram on February 2, 2015.

Following two stay petitions filed by the government, chamber judge of the SC on May 29, 2018 stayed the HC orders of bail and sent the stay petitions to its full bench for their hearing on May 31, 2018.

After hearing the stay petitions, a three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on May 31 extended its chamber judge’s order and asked the government to file two separate leave to appeal petitions with this court by June 24 against the HC bail orders in the cases.

The apex court also fixed June 24 for holding hearing on the leave to appeal petitions.

On May 16, the SC upheld a HC order that granted four month’s bail to Khaleda in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case in which she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the trial court. 

But, Khaleda, who landed in jail on February 8, could not walk out of jail as she was shown arrested in seven other cases filed in Comilla, Dhaka and Narail.