Case against Zubaida to continue or not, to be known on 13 April

The High Court had rejected a petition filed by Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, seeking to drop a case lodged by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of acquiring wealth out of known income sources.

The Appellate Division has set 13 April for an order on her leave to appeal application filed against that High Court rule.

After the hearing, a four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by chief justice Hasan Fayez Siddiqui, set the date on Thursday. Zubaida, a physician by profession, has been living in the UK with her husband Tarique for a long time.

According to lawyer sources, ACC filed the case with Kafrul police station accusing Tarique Rahman, at the time senior vice chairman of BNP, Zubaida Rahman and her mother Iqbal Mund Bano, on charges of concealing information of wealth and acquiring wealth out of known income sources, on 26 September in 2007.

The following year, charge-sheet was submitted against the three. After that Zubaida filed the petition to drop the case at the High Court.

Following final hearing, the High Court dismissed Zubaida’s petition on 12 April of 2017. The court ordered Zubaida to appear before the trial court within eight weeks in connection with the case. Zubaida Rahman filed a leave to appeal petition against that rule in the same year.

Lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali represented Zubaida in the hearing of the case. On the other hand, lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan on behalf of ACC and attorney general AM Amin Uddin took part in the hearing on behalf of the state.

Later, senior lawyer Khurshid Alam told Prothom Alo, the Appellate Division has set 13 April to give order on Zubaida’s leave to appeal petition for dropping the case.

Whether the case against Zubaida will continue or not will be learnt on that day. After framing of the charge-sheet, the case is now under trial at the chief metropolitan magistrate court, he added.