Indictment in Niko graft case deferred for fifth time as Khaleda skips hearing citing ‘security reasons’

The framing of charges in the Niko graft case has been deferred for the fifth time after Khaleda Zia skipped the hearing citing ‘lack of security’ in the court premises in the backdrop of the recent terror attacks.

Amid intense argument between the State and defence in the courtroom, the judge of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-9 Md Aminul Islam set Aug 10 as the new date for the indictment of 11 accused including the BNP chairperson.
 
Her lawyer Sanaullah Mia on Monday appealed for the hearing’s deferment citing her illness and ‘insecurity’ in court.
 
Another counsel, former additional attorney general Rezak Khan also called for deferring the indictment hearing as the Appellate Division is also set to hear on Jul 31 Khaleda’s leave-to-appeal challenging a High Court order that scrapped her petition questioning the legality of the corruption case.
 
The judge said the hearing could not be deferred on the ground of Khaleda feeling ‘insecure’. But to avoid a ‘mix-up’ by framing charges, the judge said it would be held after the top appeals court heard the leave-to-appeal.
 
This led a heated exchange of words between the lawyers of the State, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the defence.
 
At one point, another lawyer for Khaleda, Jakir Hossain Bhuiyan mentioned no confidence on the judge.
 
Judge Aminul Islam at first had rejected Khaleda’s plea seeking more time, but granted it at the end following a plea for reconsideration.
 
The first time the indictment hearing in the case was deferred was on Dec 28 last year, then on Feb 17 and Apr 12 this year.
 
On Jun 7, acting judge Jalal Uddin Ahmed deferred it for the fourth time to Jul 11.
 
The ACC filed the case on Dec 9, 2007, during the military-backed caretaker regime.
 
Charges were pressed against 11 people, including Khaleda, on May 5, 2008, for allegedly causing a loss of Tk 137 billion to the state by awarding the gas exploration contract to Canadian company Niko Resources.
 
The High Court on July 9 that year stayed proceedings of the graft case and issued a ruling after Khaleda filed the petition. The Appellate Division later upheld the stay order.
 
The case then remained stuck for the last seven years until the ACC moved to revive it last year.
 
On Jun 18, 2015, the High Court rejected Khaleda’s petition questioning the legality of the case and lifted the freeze on the case proceedings.
 
It had also ordered the former prime minister to surrender before the court within two months after receiving the court order.
 
On Nov 30, Khaleda surrendered to the trial court and secured bail in the case.