DHAKA: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday (February 29) asked the BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to surrender at trial court within 15 days in three sabotage cases filed with Paltan Thana in city.

A five-member full bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, came up with the directives in the morning.

The High Court (HC) gave interim bail to Mirza Fakhrul by issuing a rule in those three cases filed during the staging movements centering January 5 in 2015.

Later, the state appealed against the bail order. The Appellate Division gave bail till the settlement of the rule and asked him to surrender after the period of bail was over.

On November 24 of 2015, HC gave three months’ bail to the BNP leader after settling the rule. But, his lawyers claimed that as per rules, defendant can get bail through settling rule till the trial is over.

This is why Fakhrul filed leave to appeal on January 7 this year challenging HC order.

On February 15, chamber Justice Hasan Foez Siddiqui sent the appeal to the full bench of Appellate Division for hearing on February 18.

Later on February 18 while holding hearing, the SC bench came to know about Fakhrul’s recent comments on judiciary of the country and asked him to submit written statement regarding this by February 22.

The court, however, asked to submit a written statement as an affidavit signed by Fakhrul himself when the lawyers went to the court to submit explanations on that day.

Later, Fakhrul appeared before the court around 3:00pm on that day and gave statement.

Again on February 25, the court came to know his remarks about the judiciary published on several newspapers and asked him to resubmit his affidavit by February 29.

Senior lawyer Joynul Abedin along with Asaduzzaman, Ruhul Quddus Kajal and Sagir Hossain Leon were Fakhrul’s lawyer in the court.

BDST: 1452 HRS, FEB 29, 2016
SR/RR