Dhaka: The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the acquittal of the wife and the son of executed war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury in a case filed over leaking the draft verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 should not be scrapped.

An HC bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice JBM Hassan issued the rule which is returnable in four weeks, asking Quader's wife Farhat Quader and son Humman Quader to surrender before the court within six months from getting the verdict copy.

Advocate Sazzad Ali stood for Farhat and Humman while deputy attorney general AKM Zahirul Haque and assistant attorney general Shahidul Islam Khan represented the state.

On September 15 last, a court acquitted the wife and son of the BNP leader and sentenced five people to different jail terms in the case filed over leaking the draft verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that sentenced him to death.

On October 1, 2013, ICT-1 sentenced BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death after finding him guilty of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the Liberation War in 1971.

However, some parts of the draft verdict were found posted in the internet several hours before pronouncing the verdict.

Later, showing the copy of the draft verdict, Salauddin's wife and son raised a complaint that the verdict was originated from the Law Ministry.

On October 4 of the same year, a case was filed with Shahabagh Police Station under sections 57 and 63 of the Information and Communication Technology Act.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was executed in the Dhaka Central Jail on November 22, 2015.