Two separate courts in Dhaka today fixed July 5 for passing order on the bail petitions of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in connection with the cases filed for "undermining the national flag” and celebrating "fake" birthday on August 15.

After hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Md Khurshid Alam fixed the date for passing order in the case filed over celebrating "fake" birthday. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ahsan Habib fixed the date for the "undermining" the national flag case.  

Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder, one of Khaleda's lawyers, however, told The Daily Star that he appealed to the court to dispose the bail petitions before June 25 as the Appellate Division on May 11 directed the lower court to do so.

After Khaleda was convicted and sent to jail on February 8 in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, she was shown arrested in seven other cases, including these two cases and four in connection with arson, filed in Dhaka, Comilla, Khulna and Narail.

Earlier on May 17, the Dhaka courts were scheduled to pass orders on the bail petitions heard on April 25, but the courts kept those petitions in the case files without passing any order.