Hasina enjoys appearance exemption for first day
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
A special court Tuesday further deferred to June 16 the arraignment hearing in the Niko scam case against detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while she availed of the exemption from appearance in person for the first day, reports UNB.
Judge AK Roy passed the order following defence time prayer as they could not prepare the discharge petition despite browsing the available documents in connection with the case.
On the day, Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina was represented by her counsel Barrister Fazle Noor Tapash, following Monday's court order relieving her of personal attendance during court proceedings on health grounds.
Two of eight other co-accused in custody - Rafiqul Islam, former state minister for energy and power, and its ex-secretary Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury - were produced before the court.
While moving the time prayer, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, a defence counsel for Hasina, begged apology for the lapses since he was busy attending other ongoing cases against his client.
Assuring the court he said that next time this would not repeat.
Public prosecutors for Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) did not oppose the defence prayer.
Earlier, the court in the high-security parliament-building complex had held back twice the date for hearing on framing charges.
On December 9 last year, the ACC filed the case with the Tejgaon Police Station against Hasina and others, accusing them of collaborating with one another and awarding gas-extraction work at Chhatok, Kamta and Feni gas fields to the Canadian company, Niko Resources, by cheating to gain personal financial benefit.
On May 7, the ACC submitted charge sheet against Sheikh Hasina and eight others for awarding gas-exploration-and-extraction deal to the Canadian company through alleged corruption and abuse of power.
It is also alleged in the charge sheet that the work was given to Niko in an illegal way without floating tender, allowing it to extract 1,794 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from a reserve of 2,834 bcf. This misdeal is said to have caused the country a loss of Tk 136.305 billion at
the rate of the then price of
each million-cubic-feet gas at Tk 75.9783.
Judge AK Roy passed the order following defence time prayer as they could not prepare the discharge petition despite browsing the available documents in connection with the case.
On the day, Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina was represented by her counsel Barrister Fazle Noor Tapash, following Monday's court order relieving her of personal attendance during court proceedings on health grounds.
Two of eight other co-accused in custody - Rafiqul Islam, former state minister for energy and power, and its ex-secretary Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury - were produced before the court.
While moving the time prayer, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, a defence counsel for Hasina, begged apology for the lapses since he was busy attending other ongoing cases against his client.
Assuring the court he said that next time this would not repeat.
Public prosecutors for Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) did not oppose the defence prayer.
Earlier, the court in the high-security parliament-building complex had held back twice the date for hearing on framing charges.
On December 9 last year, the ACC filed the case with the Tejgaon Police Station against Hasina and others, accusing them of collaborating with one another and awarding gas-extraction work at Chhatok, Kamta and Feni gas fields to the Canadian company, Niko Resources, by cheating to gain personal financial benefit.
On May 7, the ACC submitted charge sheet against Sheikh Hasina and eight others for awarding gas-exploration-and-extraction deal to the Canadian company through alleged corruption and abuse of power.
It is also alleged in the charge sheet that the work was given to Niko in an illegal way without floating tender, allowing it to extract 1,794 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from a reserve of 2,834 bcf. This misdeal is said to have caused the country a loss of Tk 136.305 billion at
the rate of the then price of
each million-cubic-feet gas at Tk 75.9783.