Khaleda's Graft Case: Paper books prepared in haste: SC

The paper books of Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case in which BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was sentenced to jail have been prepared in extraordinary haste and it is not a normal occurrence, the Supreme Court has observed in a verdict.

The Appellate Division of the SC came up with the observation in the verdict on two appeals, filed by the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), against Khaleda's bail granted by the High Court in March in connection with the case.

The paper books were prepared by SC officials for disposal of an appeal filed by Khaleda challenging the conviction by a Dhaka court in February.

A paper book contains all the details of a case, trial proceedings, statements, evidence, verdicts and other documents. The book is necessary for the HC to hear and dispose of an appeal.

Apart from challenging her conviction and five-year jail sentence, Khaleda also sought bail from the HC.

After she submitted the plea, the ACC filed another petition with the HC, seeking to extend her jail sentence.

The HC granted bail to Khaleda on March 12.

On May 16, the SC upheld the HC order dismissing the appeals against the bail.

The copy of the full verdict was released yesterday. 

In the verdict, the apex court said: "We may take judicial note of the fact that there are a huge number of appeal cases, including death references, pending with the High Court Division which cannot be heard because the paper book has not been prepared.

"Generally, death reference cases are given priority of hearing because the condemned prisoner is waiting in the death cell with agony about his fate. Indeed, those cases cannot be disposed of urgently because of various reasons.

"Hence, in our view, the High Court Division did not act in any whimsical or perverse manner in considering that the paper books for the appeal would take a considerable time to prepare," the apex court said.

"The fact in the instant case, the paper books have been prepared in extraordinary haste is not a normal occurrence and the High Court Division was not wrong in not contemplating that the paper books would be prepared so quickly." 

Since the paper books for the appeal against the conviction pending with the HC are ready, the HC bench, presided by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, is directed to dispose of the appeal by July 31. 

The SC, in the verdict, said the discretion exercised by the HC for granting Khaleda bail for four months was not “perverse or contrary to law”.

Considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the matters taken into consideration by the HC and the fact that the bail was granted only for a limited period of four months, the SC did not consider that the exercise of discretion was perverse or contrary to law, it said.

"We are not inclined to deviate from our normal practice of not interfering with the discretion exercised by the High Court Division,” said a four-judge bench of the apex court in the full text of the verdict.

The SC said that in a recent decision, the court on January 11 declined to interfere with the HC order that granted bail to Md Mashiur Rahman who was convicted and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment although no reason was given by it (HC).

The reason is required under section 426 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the SC said in the verdict.

“Thus, when discretion is exercised judiciously, not perversely, the same generally is not interfered by the apex court, which is reluctant in interfering with the discretionary power of the High Court Division,” the SC verdict stated.

On February 8, the Special Judge's Court-5 of Dhaka sentenced Khaleda to jail after it had found her and five others guilty in the Zia Orphanage graft case.

The ACC had filed the case with Ramna Police Station in July 2008, accusing the six of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that came from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.

Meanwhile, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan yesterday told The Daily Star that after the reopening of the HC, they would pray to the HC bench, led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, for fixing a date for hearing the appeal filed by Khaleda challenging the trial court verdict.

The HC, which went to annual vacation on June 1, will reopen on June 24.

Zainul Abedin, a lawyer for Khaleda and also a BNP leader, told The Daily Star that the “government” prepared the paper books hurriedly with a “political intention”.

He alleged that the “government move” to uphold the conviction was aimed at barring the BNP chief from participating in the next general elections, likely in December.