Hearing on Khaleda’s bail pleas adjourned for Wednesday

Khaleda Zia. File Photo
Khaleda Zia. File Photo

The High Court on Tuesday adjourned until Wednesday the hearing on two petitions filed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia seeking bail in two cases, reports UNB.

An HC bench of justice AKM Asaduzzaman and justice JBM Hassan passed the order after partially hearing the petitions.

Earlier on Monday, the HC deferred the hearing on the petitions filed by the BNP chairperson's lawyers for Tuesday.

One of the cases was filed in Cumilla on charge of plotting to carry out subversive acts and another in Narail on charge of defamation, said BNP legal affairs secretary Kaisar Kamal.

On Sunday, the HC granted permission to Khaleda for filing the bail petitions after her lawyers prayed for it.

The Appellate Division earlier on Wednesday upheld the High Court order that had granted bail to convicted BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

However, the BNP chief was not freed from jail as Khaleda was shown arrested in the cases filed with different police stations in Cumilla, Dhaka, Narail and Panchagarh.

The BNP chairperson is now facing a total of 36 cases.

Eight people were killed and at least 20 others injured when miscreants hurled a crude bomb at a bus at Jogmohanpur in Chouddagram of Cumilla district during the BNP-led alliance's movement on 3 February, 2015.

On 21 December, 2015, Khaleda Zia at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh raised questions about the actual number of liberation war martyrs saying, "There're controversies over how many were martyred in the liberation war."

Reacting to Khaleda's remark, a defamation case was filed against her with a Narail court on 14 December.

Meanwhile, the HC will likely to hear two more petitions of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday, seeking bail in two other cases.

Earlier, in the day, the BNP chairperson's filed the petitions with the High Court seeking bail in two separate cases.

One of the cases was a defamation suit filed by Bangladesh Jananetri Parisad President AB Siddik on 3 November, 2016 against Khaleda Zia for distorting history of the liberation war, demeaning the national flag and map.

The other was filed by journalist Gazi Jahirul Islam on 30 August, 2016 accusing Khaleda of observing birthday on 15 August on false information.

Khaleda Zia's lawyer filed the petitions with the HC bench of justice M Enayetur Rahim and justice Shahidul Karim after taking prior permission from the court.