TRIAL COURT SHIFTING HC adjourns hearing of Khaleda’s petition

The High Court on Tuesday adjourned until June 10 the hearing of a writ petition filed by jailed Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia challenging the legality of her trial in NIKO graft case inside Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj.
The vacation bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order as Khaleda’s lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali sought time to submit the order sheets in the NIKO graft and the gazette notification relocating the courtroom of the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court 9. 
On May 12, the law ministry issued 17 gazette notifications declaring newly-constituted building 2 in front of the Central Jail at Keraniganj makeshift courtroom for several courts trying Khaleda in 17 cases.
The notifications stated that the courtroom was relocated on security grounds.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Mohammad Ali and attorney general Mahbubey Alam locked in an altercation as Mohammad Ali said the attorney general had a mania for making inconsistent arguments when the latter accused Khaleda’s lawyers of dragging the trial of NIKO case since June 8, 2018.
The court calmed them down saying that it was fasting time. 
AJ Mohammad Ali argued that the government was empowered under Section 9(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to set up a temporary court at a house or building or tent or vessel.
‘But the definition of places does not mean inside a jail,’ he contended.
He argued that the setting up temporary courtroom inside the jail compound was in contrary to the interpretation of fair trial or public and open trial stipulated in the Article 35(3) of the constitution and the international obligations.
Attorney general Mahbubey Alam opposed the petition saying that it was filed only to delay the trial.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net