A Dhaka court on Tuesday fixed October 29 to deliver its verdict against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and three other accused in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 in Dhaka fixed the date after rejecting the petition filed by Khaleda’s lawyer seeking adjournment of the hearing as they will challenge the High Court that cleared the way for holding the trail in the case in absence of Khaleda, said Khaleda’s lawyer Mohammad Sanaullah Miah, reports the UNB.

The three other accused in the case are Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of the then prime minister Khaleda between 2001 and 2006; Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

The BNP chairperson is now undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) under a special medical board formed by the government.

She has been serving five years’ rigorous imprisonment at Old Central Jail, as she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on February 8 last.

On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.