Dhaka: The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed October 1 for hearing two petitions filed by the government seeking stay on the High Court order that granted bail to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in two defamation cases filed in Dhaka and Narail.

The full bench of the Apex Court will hear the petitions, said Deputy Attorney General Kamrul Ahsan Khan Aslam.

After hearing the petitions, chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foez Siddique sent the petitions to the full bench for their hearing on October 1.

Earlier on August 19, the government filed two petitions seekingstayon the HC orders that granted bail to Khaleda in the defamation case of Narail on August 13 and that of Dhaka on August 14.

On December 21, 2015, Khaleda Zia at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh raised questions about the actual number of Liberation War martyrs, saying, ‘There’re controversies over how many were martyred in the Liberation War. There’re also many books and documents on the controversies.’

Reacting to Khaleda’s remarks, Raihan Farooque Imam of Naragati filed a case with the Cognisance Court on December 24, 2015, in Narail.

Besides, president of pro-Awami League organisation Jananetri Parishad AB Siddique filed another defamation case against Khaleda Zia with a Dhaka court on January 5, 2016.