Appellate Division pauses four more cases against Khaleda

The Appellate Division on Sunday upheld the High Court suspension of trials in four more cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The cases carry charges of vandalism, violence and sedition. Besides, the Appellate Division has asked the concerned High Court (HC) bench and the attorney general's office to follow the rule on speedy disposal of the cases. 

An Appellate Division bench headed by Senior Justice Muhammad Imman Ali passed the order, dismissing the state's appeal challenging the HC order staying the proceedings.

Additional Attorney General Momtaz Uddin Fakir and Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Debnath stood for the state while Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented Khaleda at the hearing.

Police submitted charge-sheets in three cases filed at Darussalam Police Station in 2015 in connection with sabotage and violence. Khaleda Zia appealed at the HC in 2017 challenging the charge-sheets.

The HC that year put a freeze on three cases and issued a rule on case disposal. Subsequently, the state moved to the Appellate Division challenging the HC order.

In 2016, the sedition case was filed against Khaleda over her controversial comment about the number of martyrs in 1971. The court summoned her to appear before it that year. 

The BNP chief in that year appeared before the chief metropolitan magistrate court and secured bail in the sedition case. The case was later shifted to another Dhaka court in 2016 and Khaleda also secured bail from there. 

Earlier, the Appellate Division put a freeze on eight cases of violence and sabotage against Khaleda. The pause on three cases on Sunday raised the number of cases to 12.