A Dhaka court  set May 21 to start recording deposition of the first prosecution witness in a graft case against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Asaduzzaman passed the order, accepting a time plea of the prosecution.

Today was fixed to start recording the deposition of the first PW, but the prosecution pleaded for time instead as the witness failed to appear before the court.

The court on April 13 framed charges against the two fugitive accused as it scrapped a petition to appoint lawyers to defend them in absentia.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on September 26, 2007, filed the case against Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbal-Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth of Taka 4.81 crore and concealing information about the assets.

The anti-graft body filed the charge-sheet in 2008. Zubaida in 2008 filed a petition with the High Court, pleading to quash the proceedings of the case. The High Court in the same year stayed the proceedings of the case, which was later upheld by the Appellate Division.

The High Court after holding final hearing on the matter, cancelled the plea of Zubaid on April 12, 2017. It had also asked her to appear before the trial court concerned within eight weeks. Zubaida later filed a leave to appeal petition against the High Court order.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on April 13, 2022, scrapped Zubaida’s leave to appeal petition and upheld the High Court order.

On November 1, 2022, the lower court concerned issued arrest warrants against the couple after accepting the charges pressed against them. On February 6, 2023, the court issued a gazette asking the couple to appear before the court.