HC verdict on Khaleda petitions August 5
The High Court will deliver its verdict on August 5 on two writ petitions filed by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, challenging the legality of the trial proceedings of the Gatco graft case against her.
On June 17, the HC bench, comprising Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Abdur Rob, concluded the hearing on the two petitions and kept the verdict pending.
The matter appeared in yesterdays cause list of the High Court, stating that it will deliver its verdict on August 5 on Khaledas petitions, advocate Raghib Rauf Chowdhury, one of Khaledas counsels, told reporters.
On September 2, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed the case under emergency power rule against Khaleda Zia, Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, and 11 others.
According to the case statement, corruption was involved while awarding Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Company Ltd (Gatco) a contract for container management at inland depots in Dhaka and Chittagong. The graft allegedly cost the state exchequer over Tk. 1,000 crore. Khaleda, on September 27, 2007, had filed a petition with the HC, challenging the legality of the inclusion of the case under the Emergency Powers Act (EPR) and seeking a stay order on the trial proceedings.
In 2008, an HC bench issued a rule and stayed the trial proceedings after hearing a petition of the BNP chief. In the same year, the proceedings of the graft case were stayed again following another Khaleda petition challenging the legality of the case. The HC also issued separate rules asking the government and ACC to explain why bringing the case under the EPR should not be declared illegal.
