The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The Supreme Court yesterday rebuffed a government-ACC joint move by refusing to entertain their applications for overturning extended High Court stay on the case proceedings in Niko and Barge-mounted power plant graft cases against ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.

Instead of granting the government side's prayer for staying the HC orders of stay, vacation Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court M Joynul Abedin fixed October 13 for hearing the petitions.

Attorney-General Salah Uddin Ahmed appeared for both the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the move, which came at a time when a latest legal procedure is on for her release following a government plan for her meeting with another former PM, Khaleda Zia of BNP.

"Why do you undermine the High Court orders; let it function properly," Justice Abedin told the chief government law officer before fixing the date of hearings.

Emerging from the court, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, a top counsel for Sheikh Hasina, told reporters that the posture of the caretaker government demonstrated through moving to the Supreme Court for vacating any High Court stay order secured by his client betrayed its discriminatory attitude.

"The stance of the government towards Hasina is not only unfair but also discriminatory considering the case of another ex-Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia," Shafique said.

If it continued, the last-ditch legal bid for freeing her on bail to join the current political process of resolving various issues for transition from the interim period through election would be at stake, he apprehended.

"If the government believes in democracy and the rule of law, all the cases facing Hasina should be withdrawn before the proposed dialogue as those have been filed with a motive of political harassment," he suggested.