Hearing on Khaleda\\\'s pleas adjourned

The High Court has adjourned a hearing on two writs by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia till Wednesday. Justice Kazi Rezaul Haque adjourned the hearing on Monday following a plea by Khaleda’s lawyers. Mahbub Uddin Khokan, one of the BNP chief’s lawyers, told reporters they had not yet received a copy of the split verdict from the previous bench, without which the hearing cannot continue. Last month the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued a split verdict on the pleas, following which the chief justice sent the writs to a third bench. Khaleda on May 12 challenged the legality of appointment of Dhaka’s Special Judge-3 Basudeb Roy who indicted her in the ‘Zia Orphanage Trust’ and ‘Zia Charitable Trust’ graft cases on March 19. She also sought a stay order on the proceedings of the cases. After a two-day hearing, Justice Farah Mahbub issued a ruling and ordered a freeze on the proceedings of the cases, while Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo wanted to scrap the petitions. As per rule, the matter was forwarded to the chief justice who assigned Justice Kazi Rezaul Haque’s bench to hear the pleas. The former prime minister had moved the High Court challenging the indictment but the court dismissed her plea. The Anti Corruption Commission in 2008 filed a case against six, including Khaleda and her elder son Tarique Rahman, for allegedly embezzling Tk 21 million from ‘Zia Orphanage Trust’ funds, which reportedly came from a foreign bank. Charges were pressed against them two years later. In 2011, the ACC accused the BNP chief and three others of pocketing Tk 31.5 million from the ‘Zia Charitable Trust’, according to bdnews24.com.