A petition was filed with the High Court on Sunday seeking to quash the trial court indictment order against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Charitable and Orphanage Trust fund graft cases.
Petitioner Khaleda Zia also sought a stay order on the further trial court proceedings.
Framing the charges, the Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 on March 19 set April 21 for starting the trial with recording the evidence of prosecution witnesses, rejecting her time petition in both the cases.
Emerging from the court, Barrister Mahbubuddin Khokon, counsel for Khaleda Zia, told reporters that the HC division bench comprising Justice Borhanuddin and Justice KM Quader fixed April 16 for hearing on the petition.
The charge frame hearing in the two cases has so far been adjourned 50 times in the last two years, according to the counsel for the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).
On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust case with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.
ACC deputy director Harunur Rashid, also an investigation officer of the case, pressed charges against the accused on January 16, 2012.
Besides, the ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK after securing bail, and four others of misappropriating over Tk 2.10 crore which came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.
On August 5, 2010, Harunur Rashid submitted a charge-sheet to the court in the case against six people, including BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Source: UNBConnect