No scope for Tarique, Zubaida to fight legal battle from outside the country: Attorney General
Attorney General A M Amin Uddin on Monday said there is no scope for BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman to fight legal battle by appointing lawyers as both are fugitives.
He made the remarks while addressing reporters at his office in the Supreme Court on Monday.
"There is no precedent in the history of our judicial system to fight a legal battle without appearing in court so far. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic period, Ron Haque Sikder and his brother applied for bail from outside the country. The High Court rejected their plea," he said.
"On the contrary, the court fined them for applying for bail from outside the country. Therefore, Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman do not have the opportunity to fight legally without appearing at the court," he added.
On 26 September 2007, ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk4.81 crore and concealing the information.
In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.
In 2008, a chargesheet was filed against three people.
The HC rejected the rule in 2017 and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks.
On 29 March, Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder filed a petition on behalf of Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman. The lawyer argued in favour of attending the hearing on behalf of them.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special judge Md Asaduzzaman set 13 April for hearing in this regard.