The Supreme Court has deferred until Wednesday the hearing on BNP chief’s Khaleda Zia’s bail in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
The top court is hearing pleas by the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) and the State challenging bail granted by the High Court.
The four-member appeals bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has deferred the hearing until 1pm on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s hearing started around 9:30am with ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan’s opening statements followed by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam presenting his case.
As the state’s top legal officer was reading out the case documents highlighting the backgrounds, Khaleda’s counsel Zainul Abedin objected.
“He is the attorney general and why is reading out these,” he said when pro-BNP lawyers raised a commotion in support.
The attorney general then told the judges that he cannot continue to present his case like this.
The proceedings resumed on Chief Justice Hossain’s intervention. The court then adjourned the hearing till the next day.
Khaleda has been in the old jailhouse on Nazimuddin Road since Feb 8 when a special court sentenced her to five years in prison for embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust.
The High Court on Mar 12 granted Khaleda a four-month interim bail, considering her age and health issues after the special court released the full verdict.
When the ACC and the State moved the Appellate Division, it suspended the bail order until May 8, allowing them to file appeals against the decision.