A Dhaka court will deliver judgement in a graft case against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman on Wednesday, and security has been stepped up on the court grounds ahead of it.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Asaduzzaman will deliver the judgement in their absence at 3pm.
Meanwhile, pro-BNP lawyers are staging demonstrations on the court premises against the trial.
Earlier on July 27, the court fixed Wednesday for placing legal arguments as testimonies ended in the case on that day.
The prosecution completed arguments and sought the highest punishment for the couple.
A total of 43 witnesses out of 56 testified in the case.
The court on April 13, 2013 framed charges against the two fugitive accused as it scrapped a petition to allow them to appoint lawyers to defend them in absentia.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on September 26, 2007, filed the case against Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbal-Mand Banu for illegally amassing wealth to the tune of Tk4.81 crore and concealing information about the asset.
The anti-graft body pressed charges in 2008. Zubaida in 2008 filed a petition with the High Court, pleading to quash the case proceedings. The High Court in the same year stayed the proceedings, which was later upheld by the Appellate Division.
The High Court after holding a final hearing on the matter cancelled the plea of Zubaida on April 12, 2017. It had also asked her to appear before the trial court concerned within eight weeks. Zubaida later filed a leave to appeal petition against the High Court order.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on April 13, 2022 scrapped Zubaida's leave to appeal petition and upheld the High Court order.
On November 1, 2022, the lower court concerned issued arrest warrants for the couple after accepting the charges pressed against them. On February 6, 2023, the court issued a gazette asking the couple to appear before it.
