The freeze on the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been withdrawn.
Published : 18 Jun 2015, 01:57 PM
The High Court bench of Justices Md Nuruzzaman and Zafar Ahmed gave the verdict on Thursday on the former prime minister’s petition questioning the legality of the case.
It had withdrawn a previous stay order on the case and ordered Khaleda to surrender before the trial court within two months after receiving the court order.
There are no more hurdles for the case, filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), to be tried in the court, lawyers said.
The ACC filed the case on Dec 9, 2007 after the BNP chief was arrested by the military-backed caretaker government.
Charges were pressed against 11, including Khaleda, on May 5, 2008, for allegedly causing a loss of Tk 137 billion to the state exchequer by awarding gas exploration job to a Canadian company, Niko Resources.
Later, the High Court had frozen the case following a petition by the former prime minister.