Khaleda again expresses no confidence in HC bench

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Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Khaleda Zia has again expressed her lack of confidence in a High Court (HC) bench, reports bdnews24.com.
In a petition, submitted to Justice Iman Ali and Justice Obaidul Hasan, the BNP chairperson stated that she seriously apprehended that she might not get proper justice from the bench, which was dealing with her application to stay a government order requiring her to vacate her cantonment residence.
The current petition to the High Court applies for her stay application to be withdrawn from the cause list and sent it to the Chief Justice.
Earlier, on April 11, the HC bench rejected an appeal by Khaleda's lawyers to stay a government order directing Khaleda to vacate her cantonment residence, and two days later rejected another application expressing 'no confidence' on the bench.
The hearing on this petition will take place Wednesday, her lawyer said.
The Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments had served Khaleda the original notice on April 20, 2009 asking her to immediately vacate the cantonment house.
On May 3, Khaleda filed a petition with the HC challenging the executive order.
In a modified notice on May 7, the Directorate asked the BNP chief to leave the house within 15 days.
Subsequently, a government ministry in a May 24 notice asked the former Prime Minister to leave the house by June 30.
Three days later, the court stayed the government notice for three months.
On August 23, the High Court extended its stay order upon the government notice for a further four months, and on December 14 the freeze was extended for a further six months.
The Cabinet had decided in April 2009 to cancel the lease on the house on grounds that the leasing process had been faulty and that Khaleda had violated the lease terms.
Before her Cabinet took the decision, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had told parliament that Khaleda should vacate the house to make way for blocks of apartments for families of army officers killed in the February BDR mutiny.
The massive 2.72-acre spread was originally the official home of the deputy army chief, a position held by then Lt Gen Ziaur Rahman, who later became the army chief and then President through controversial means.
After the murder of Ziaur Rahman, in a military coup in 1981, his widow Khaleda was also awarded a house in Gulshan in addition to the cantonment house, which the family had been occupying since the 1970s.