The High Court fixed on Wednesday to give its ruling on the petitions filed by the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to annul a lower court order indicting her in two corruption cases.
The bench of Justice Borhanuddin and Justice KM Kamrul Kader set the date after completing the hearing on the pleas yesterday.
Moudud Ahmed and AJ Mohammad Ali pleaded for Khaleda, while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Anti-Corruption Commission’s counsel Khurshid Alam Khan opposed the petitions.
The attorney general requested the HC not to scrap the lower court order, saying Khaleda will be acquitted if the prosecution cannot prove the charges against her.
On March 19, Judge Basudev Roy of the Dhaka Third Special Judge’s Court passed the indictment order against the former prime minister.
The trial is supposed to start today with depositions of prosecution witnesses.
However, Khaleda’s lawyer, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, said they will seek an extension from the lower court today, as the High Court is expected to pass its order on Wednesday.
Six people, including Khaleda and her elder son, Tarique Rahman, have been indicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust case for embezzling over Tk2.1 crore by establishing a “fake” trust in 1991.
The lower court also indicted four people, including the BNP chief, in the Zia Charitable Trust case for raising funds by abusing the power of the Prime Minister’s Office during Khaleda’s 2001-2006 tenure.
