Tarique, Zubaida are ‘fugitives’, dispose case against them soon: HC

The High court on Sunday ordered the judicial court to dispose of the case against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida as soon as possible.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo also rejected the couple’s writ petitions challenging the corruption case against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing wealth in their affidavits.

Khurshid Alam Khan, the ACC lawyer, said Tarique Rahman is a fugitive convict. So no lawyers can fight on behalf of him, reports UNB.

Besides, the Appellate Division recently declared Zubaida as a fugitive.

As both of them remained fugitive, the court rejected the writ petitions of the duo saying these are not acceptable, he said.

The court also withdrew the stay order on the trial proceedings of the case filed against them.

It also asked to send the documents of the case to the judicial court within 10 days and dispose of it soon.

On June 19, the High Court fixed June 26 for hearing the three writ petitions.

Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali stood for the petitioners while Advocate Khurshid Alam and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the ACC and state respectively.

On September 26, 2007, the ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul Police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth of Tk 4.81 crore and concealing the information.

In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.

On April 12, 2017, the HC rejected the rule and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks.