The High Court on Tuesday rejected, 'for not being pressed', a petition filed by Khaleda Zia's eldest son Tarique Rahman for revision of the lower court's order that had accepted his money-laundering case for trial.
The bench of Justice AKM Fazlur Rahman and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain passed the order as Tarique's counsel, Ahsanul Karim, told the court that his client had instructed him not to press the petition.
After the order, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters that the prosecution now faces no legal bar in proceeding with Tarique's case.
A defence lawyer of the panel handling Tarique's case, however, said that another petition relating to the case would be filed in a different forum.
During the hearing, the court pointed out that Tarique had no legal right to challenge any order of the trial court before surrendering to the court as he is neither on bail nor under arrest. Tarique was in London long before the filing of the case, it added.
In accordance with our law, the petitioner must surrender to the court, which had ordered him to appear before it on July 25, to get legal benefit in the case, observed the court, citing a decision of the Appellate Division.
Tarique's lawyer argued that Tarique did not have to surrender before the trial to file the petition as the ACC, in the money laundering case, had said that the accused remained abroad for medical treatment with the permission of the court and the government.
'We cannot make a mistake even if the prosecution does so. The fact is that the petitioner is now a fugitive in the eye of the law although he went abroad before the filing of this case,' said the court.
At this stage of the argument, Ahsanul Karim told the court, 'My client has instructed me not to proceed with the matter.'
Source : New Age
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