The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The High Court yesterday declined to continue hearing halfway through on a petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami chief and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami challenging the validity of the Gatco scam case.

Without making any comment, a Division Bench comprising Justice Zinat Ara and Justice Farah Mahbub referred the matter to the Chief Justice for further order, court sources said.

"There are two possibilities behind it, either they feel embarrassed or differ with each other on the matter," a senior lawyer requesting anonymity told UNB.

Earlier, on July 20, a co-judge of a High Court Division Bench felt embarrassed in hearing Nizami's petition when his counsel Barrister Abdur Razzak moved it.

Nizami, arrested on May 18, was granted bail for two months in the Gatco case by the High Court on July 14 and released the following day from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

Nizami filed the petition as the principal accused in the Gatco case, BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, recently secured an interim stay order on her part from the High Court.