By Mizan Rahman/Dhaka

The high court yesterday rejected a writ petition filed for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia challenging the appointment of the trial judge, who indicted her and others in Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.
The bench with Justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque pronounced the decision after hearing the matter for two days.
The matter came up before the present bench as a two-judge bench earlier pronounced split decision on the petition on May 25.
Following the supreme court ruling, the chief justice constituted the single- judge bench with justice Hoque to hear and dispose of the petition.
Advocate Asaduzzman had filed the writ petition on May 12 for Begum Zia.
The petition alleged that legal procedure was not followed to indict Begum Zia, her elder son and BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman and others as no gazette notification was published regarding appointment of the judge to try the cases.
Special judge-3 of Dhaka Basudeb Roy indicted Begum Zia and others in the cases on March 19.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lodged two separate cases with Tejgoan and Ramna police stations on August 8, 2011 and July 3, 2008 and submitted chargesheets on January 16, 2012 and August 5, 2009 respectively. Meanwhile, a Dhaka court has again deferred hearing to record testimony in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases against Khaleda Zia.
The deposition was to take place in a makeshift court at the Alia Chennaia in old Dhaka yesterday.
Special Judge-3 Basudeb Roy set July 9 as the new date following a defence petition seeking more time.
Earlier the deposition was to be held on May 21.
Defence counsel Sanaullah Miah said they had moved the High Court challenging the legality of the appointment of Judge Roy.
On May 25, an HC bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued a split verdict on the plea, following which the Chief Justice sent the writ to a third bench.
“That’s why we have prayed to stop the deposition,” the lawyer said.
After a two-day hearing, Justice Farah Mahbub issued a ruling and ordered a freeze on the proceedings of the cases, while Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo wanted to scrap the petitions.
As per rule, the matter was forwarded to the chief justice who assigned justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque’s bench to hear the pleas.
The former prime minister had moved the court challenging the indictment but the court dismissed her plea.
The Anti-Corruption Commission in 2008 filed a case against six, including Khaleda and her son Tarique Rahman, for allegedly embezzling 21mn taka from ‘Zia Orphanage Trust’, which reportedly came from a foreign bank.
Charges were pressed against them two years later.
In 2011, the ACC accused the BNP chief and three others of pocketing 31.5mn taka from the ‘Zia Charitable Trust’.
The national anti-graft agency prosecuted the four in a chargesheet in 2012.