Hearing on Khaleda's cantt residence deferred

FE Team | Published: March 16, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The scheduled rule-hearing on the legal dispute over the leasehold Dhaka cantonment residence of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was again deferred to Thursday following a time petition before the High Court (HC) Monday, reports UNB.
As the matter came up for hearing, Advocate Afzal H Khan, son of TH Khan, the principal counsel for Khaleda, submitted a time petition on the ground of his mother's sudden illness, which was opposed by the acting attorney general.
Acting Attorney General MK Rahman told the court that the pending rule-hearing was earlier held back thrice. Any one of the panel lawyers in the case can begin submission on the matter for a while, so that the case could come up next as a partly heard matter.
After hearing both sides, a division bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice ATM Fazle Kabir re-fixed the hearing on Thursday as a last chance.
On May 27 last year, the HC upon a writ petition filed by Khaleda Zia, issued a rule asking the government to explain why the impugned May 24 house-vacating notice should not be declared illegal and in violation of the petitioner's fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
The HC had also stayed operation of the notice that asked former Premier Khaleda Zia to hand over her leasehold Dhaka cantonment residence to government authorities.
On May 24 last year, the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments (DMLC) served the latest notice with the tone of an ultimatum on Khaleda asking her to leave the Dhaka Cantonment house by June 30 as she didn't pay heed to previous notices for vacating the house.
The DMLC had served the notice following a government decision cancelling the lease of the house inside the Cantonment.
On April 8 last year, the new government at a cabinet meeting cancelled the lease of the much-talked-about cantonment residence of opposition leader Khaleda Zia as the "allocation was not made legally". The allocation of the house was given to the Zia family after the assassination of former army chief and President Ziaur Rahman in 1981.
Khaleda and members of her family have been living in the Cantonment residence for over three decades.