The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will hold on Sunday the hearing of the leave to appeal petition by the Government against the Wednesday's High Court judgment quashing the Azam J Chowdhury extortion case against detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The six-member full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Acting Chief Justice Md Fazlul Karim deferred the hearing till Sunday since Sheikh Sheikh Hasina's counsels for requested more time.

Sheikh Hasina's Advocate-on- Record Maulovi Wahidullah sought for time requesting adjournment of the hearing as her senior lawyers Barrister Rafiq-ul-Huq was not present in the Court.

Attorney General Barrister Fida M Kamal said the plaintiff had no objection to the deferment of the hearing.

The Court ordered the case proceedings to be adjourned until Sunday.

Meanwhile, addressing a joint rally of pro-Awami League (AL) and pro-BNP lawyers at the SCBA building, Barrister Rafiqul Huq alleged that the Attorney General's office did not follow due rules during filing the Government's leave-to-appeal petition against the Wednesday's High Court verdict.

"We were not ready to attend the hearing since the case was not in the regular daily cause-list," he told the joint rally, first of its sort in last 17 years.

The rally was organised apparently to put pressure on the Appellate Division so that the judgment of the appeal could not overrule the High Court verdict, some lawyers said.

Organisers announced that the joint protest rally of the pro-BNP and pro-AL lawyers would be held everyday at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) building until further decision.

"We are not demonstrating against the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court," Barrister Rafiq-ul-Huq said as some of the speakers made statement against the highest Court of the Republic.

"We are requesting the Appellate Division to go by the Constitution and law of the land," Barrister Huq said.