HC stays trial proceedings of two cases against Khaleda

The High Court on Sunday stayed the trial proceedings of two arson cases filed against Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The court also issued two separate rulings asking the government to explain why the proceedings of the cases against Khaleda would not be scrapped.

The bench of Justice Miftah Uddin Chowdhury and Justice ANM Bashir Ullah came up with the orders and rules after hearing two separate petitions filed by Khaleda challenging the legality of the lower court orders that had taken cognisance into charges of two bus burning cases against her in February 2015.

Khaleda also prayed for staying the proceeding in the two cases, now pending with the Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal 1 for hearing of framing charges on April 10.

In her petition, Khaleda said that the Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal 1 on August 10, 2016 taken cognizance into the charges in both the cases filed by Darus Salam police filed in February 2015 without mentioning her name in the first information reports.

On May 12, 2016, the police submitted chargesheet in the court against Khaleda and 25 leaders and activists of BNP on charge of burning three seats of 71 Paribahan at Bagbari on February 10, 2015 during the indefinite blockade announced by Khaleda on January 6, 2015.

Two days later on May 14, 2016, the Darus Salam police also submitted another chargesheet against Khaleda and 20 leaders and activists of BNP on charge of burning a bus of New Vision at Diabari on February 19, 2015 during the blockade.

Khaleda said that she was confined at her party office in Gulshan during the blockade and submitted news clipping of both local and foreign newspapers in support of her statement.

Source: New Age