The High Court has rejected BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's appeal against her indictment in the ‘Zia Charitable Trust’ and ‘Zia Orphanage Trust’ corruption cases.
Published : 23 Apr 2014, 04:01 PM
The bench of justices Borhanuddin and KM Kamrul Kader gave the order on Wednesday after hearing the review petition filed on grounds that the charges had not been "properly" framed.
On Mar 19, Judge Basudev Roy of Dhaka's Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court had indicted Khaleda in the two graft cases.
In 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had implicated six people, including Khaleda and her son Tarique Rahman, accusing them of siphoning off Tk 21 million from the trust fund.
In 2011, the ACC sued the BNP chief and three others, accusing them of hiving off Tk 31.5 million of the Trust money.
The High Court in its order on Wednesday said that Khaleda had claimed innocence when the lower court had read out the charges to her.
So, her petition lacked basis, the court said while rejecting it.
Khaleda’s counsel Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain told reporters, “We had told the lower court that the cases related to trust boards and should be settled under the Trust Act. But it framed the charges in violation of the rule.”
"The judge had framed the charges away from the court room and Khaleda Zia had not been quizzed before being indicted,” he added.
However, he said, the High Court endorsed the lower court's decision despite being told about the anomalies. "We’re frustrated and astonished.”
He claimed that the presence of a huge police force in the court complex had given him an inkling of what the High Court ruling would be.
Khaleda's lawyers said they would appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court after getting the full version of the High Court order.
ACC Counsel Advocate Khurshid Alam told journalists that the High Court had categorically rejected Khaleda’s both appeals.
“This proves that the charges were framed properly as per law."
He felt the trial proceedings could now begin in the lower court, as there was no legal bar any more.