HC grants Khaleda Zia bail in two Cumilla cases, no decision on Norail case

The High Court has granted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia six-month interim bail in the Cumilla murder and anti-terror cases, but has not made a decision regarding the Norail defamation case

The bench of Justice AJM Asaduzzaman and Justice JBM Hassan had set Monday as the date for the bail decision in the three cases.

The court granted interim bail to the BNP chief in the two cases over the firebombing of a bus in Cumilla’s Chauddagram and the anti-terror case over illegal explosives.

But the court did not rule on the Norail defamation case as a bail petition had been made to the trial court. The court asked what the trial court’s decision on bail had been, but did not get a satisfactory answer. In response, it said the bail petition to the High Court was ‘not pledged’.

Khaleda Zia is currently serving a five-year sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. Though she has received a four-month interim bail in the case, she has not been released due to several other pending cases.

Her bail petitions in two other cases are also before the High Court, but hearings in those two cases have yet to be held.

The bench of Justice AJM Asaduzzaman and Justice JBM Hassan had set Monday as the date for the bail decision in the Cumilla and Norail cases.

Eight people were killed after a night coach was petrol bombed in Chauddagram on Feb 3, 2015 during the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s protests. Two separate cases – one for murder, the other under the Explosives Act – were filed over the incident.

A warrant was issued for Khaleda’s arrest after police filed the charge sheet in the two cases. The state then filed to have her shown arrested over the graft case in Dhaka.

The Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court then ordered Khaleda Zia to be brought for a hearing on Mar 26. The BNP chief has yet to be brought to court due to her illness.

Khaleda’s lawyers then moved the Cumilla District and Sessions Judge’s court for her bail in the two cases on Apr 23. The hearing has been set for Jun 7. Khaleda’s lawyers then requested the date be brought forward, but the proposal was rejected.

Khaleda’s lawyer Masud Rana said that they have challenged the decision at the High Court and have filed for bail there.

The Norail case accuses the BNP chief of making ‘adverse comments’ regarding the Liberation War death count. The case was filed by Norail district administration Ward-1 member and Noragati Awami League Joint General Raihan Farooki on Dec 24, 2015.

The court issued an arrest warrant against Khaleda Zia in the case in August 2016 after she failed to attend hearings.

The BNP chairperson petitioned for bail in the Cumilla and Norail cases on May 20.