Senior lawyers of BNP chief Khaleda Zia's legal team have met with the chief justice to object to the handling of the Zia Charitable Trust graft case against her in a makeshift court on the prison premises and the continuation of the trial 'despite her illness', reports bdnews24.com.
A written petition has been submitted to the chief justice calling for an investigation into those who 'overstep the bounds of the judiciary' and urging legal action against them.
A petition has also been sent to the High Court (HC) calling for it to instruct the BNP chief, who is currently serving a five-year sentence over another graft case, to be transferred to a specialised hospital for her medical care.
The petition was raised before the HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Ahmed Sohel on Saturday, but a hearing was not held.
"We filed a petition seeking transfer of Khaleda Zia to a specialised hospital for treatment," said lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon. "The petition may come up on tomorrow (Monday)'s docket."
Several of the BNP chairperson's leaders presented the petition to Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Sunday and spoke to him for about half an hour.
The petition raised three arguments: (1) Khaleda Zia is not in good health. She is very ill and has difficulty walking, which the government has acknowledged. But the government has not taken any steps for her medical care. (2) Trials cannot be held at a derelict court. Any court proceedings in such conditions cannot be considered legal and (3) It is illegal for a court to be set up at the old Dhaka Central Jail without the permission of the Supreme Court as it has not been removed from the list of the country's prisons.
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