Zia charitable graft: Plea to stay trial rejected

A High Court bench today refused to stay the trial proceedings against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in Zia Charitable Trust corruption case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission in 2011.

The bench of Justice Miftah Uddin Choudhury and Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury, however, advised Khaleda’s lawyers to move her two petitions that sought stay on the trial proceedings before a regular bench after its reopening.

The court will reopen on May 2 after its ongoing annual vacation.

ALSO READ: Khaleda files two pleas with HC challenging trial court order

The HC bench passed the order as one of its judges refused to hold hearing on two petitions of Khaleda without mentioning any reason, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

He said Khaleda Zia’s lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali today prayed to the HC bench to stay the trial proceedings of the case till reopening of the court.

But the bench did not grant his prayer as it did not hear the petitions, he added.

On April 18, the BNP chairperson filed the petitions with the HC challenging a lower court order that rejected her two applications in connection with Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.

One of the applications was filed for further cross examination of the investigation officer of the case while another was for scrutinising the case diary.

In the petitions, Khaleda on April 19 prayed to the HC to stay the trial proceedings against her in the graft case.

On April 17, a Dhaka court rejected the applications of the BNP chief after her lawyers submitted those before the court at Bakshibazar in presence of Khaleda. It also fixed April 25 for hearing her statements in the case.

Earlier on April 7, the HC rejected another petition of Khaleda, clearing the way for a lower court to continue the trial proceedings against her in the graft case.

Other accused in the case filed by the ACC on August 8, 2011 are Harris Chowdhury, Khaleda's former political secretary, Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary of Harris, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. Of them, Harris is on the run.