The High Court (HC) has deferred till June 5 the hearing on a rule issued against the proceedings of a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during 1/11 against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman.

The court also delivers its opinion on whether Tarique  and Zubaida can recruit a lawyer in the case as they are fugitives.

Also read:HC directs ACC to identify those involved in money laundering through e-commerce

A HC bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akand passed the deferment order on Sunday.  

Lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali and Kaiser Kamal stood for Tarique and Zubaida.

On the other hand, an Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique deferred the hearing of Shamim Iskander, the younger brother of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia till June 5 in a case filed by the ACC for acquiring illegal wealth.

Lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon stood for Shamim Iskander while Md Khurshid Alam Khan represented the anti-graft body.  

ACC filed the case against Tarique, his wife Zubaida and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of amassing illegal wealth and concealing information in wealth statements, with Kafrul police station on September 26, 2007. The accused later filed a petition challenging the legality of the case proceedings.

Also read: HC orders disposal of ex-MP Bodi’s graft case in 1 yr

In 2007,  the ACC issued a notice seeking information on the assets of Shamim. In 2008, the ACC filed a case under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act with the Ramna police station in the capital alleging concealing assets against Iskander and his wife.

In 2016, the High Court rejected Shamim's application for seeking dismissal of the case, and they then appealed to the Appellate Division.