SC rejects Khaleda’s petition to stop Niko graft case

A petition by BNP chief Khaleda Zia to stop a graft case against her has been rejected by the Appellate Division on Thursday.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha threw away her application for leave to appeal against a High Court order that removed a stay order on the case. 

The former prime minister is accused of corruption, along with ten others, for awarding contracts to Niko Resources for gas exploration.

The case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) in 2008 accused them of incurring a loss of Tk 137 billion to the state exchequer by claiming three gas wells were abandoned before handing them over to the Canadian firm.

The case was put on freeze on Jul 9, 2008 after Khaleda moved the High Court. A rule too was issued asking defendants why the charges should not declared beyond legal purview and annulled.

She was granted bail in the case on Sept 9. 

Last year, the ACC revived the case.

In June, the High Court gave its verdict, rejecting Khaleda’s plea and removing the stay order on the case.

Khaleda was then ordered to surrender in court.

The BNP chief surrendered at the Special Judges Court on Nov 30 last year and was granted bail. The judge then scheduled an indictment hearing for the case.

But Khaleda, after getting the full copy of the High Court’s verdict, filed the leave to appeal application at the apex court.