<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A Dhaka court on Thursday set August 2 for delivering its judgment in a graft case filed against BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman fixed the date after completing all legal procedures in the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Advocate Mosharraf Hossain Kajal took part in arguments on behalf of the&nbsp; Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the hearing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, no counsel stood for the accused as they are now absconding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">examining 43 out of 56 witnesses, the court completed recording testimonies on July 24.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court began trial against the accused on April 13 after framing charges against them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on November 1, 2022, the court issued arrest warrants for Tarique Rahman and Zubaida in the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On June 26, the High court ordered the judicial court to dispose of the case as soon as possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The HC also rejected the couple’s writ petitions, challenging the corruption case against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing information in their affidavits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As both of them remain fugitives, the court rejected the writ petitions – saying these are not acceptable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court also withdrew the stay order on the trial proceedings of the case filed against them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On September 26, 2007, ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 4.81 crore and concealing the information.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The HC rejected the rule in 2017 and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>