A court on Tuesday set February 17 for holding the hearing in two cases lodged against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.
Tuesday was fixed for holding indictment hearings in the two cases, but Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Noor reset the date, allowing a time plea of the defence.
Khaleda Zia's counsel Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder filed the time plea, saying his client could not appear before the court due to her illness.
Journalist Gazi Jahirul Islam lodged the fake birthday case against Khaleda on August 30, 2016.
According to the complainant, from 1996 Khaleda has been celebrating her fake birthday on August 15, the day when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was martyred along with most of his family members. She has been doing this on purpose, to dishonour the Father of the Nation.
The complainant also submitted copies of different newspaper reports on Khaleda’s birthday, copies of her passport, marriage certificate and mark sheets, which indicates her birthday on any other day but August 15.
Jananetri Parishad President AB Siddiqui filed the other case on November 3, 2016, against Khaleda Zia and her late husband Ziaur Rahman for stigmatizing the War of Liberation by rehabilitating anti-Liberation War elements.
The BNP chief is on bail in both cases as Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Qayesh granted her bail on July 31, 2018.
