Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia will have to surrender before the trial court in two months in the Gatco graft case as the High Court (HC) has released the full text of its verdict rejecting her two writ petitions.

The High Court on Monday released the full text of its verdict rejecting the two petitions filed by the BNP chief challenging the legality of the graft case and its inclusion under the Emergency Powers Act.

On 5 August last year, an HC bench comprising Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Abdur Rob rejected the two writ petitions.

The bench had also asked Khaleda Zia to surrender before the lower court in two months.  

Anti Corruption Commission lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said he received a copy of the HC verdict in the afternoon.

He also said Khaleda will have to surrender before the trial court within two months from the date the verdict reaches the special trial court.

On 2 September 2007, the ACC filed the Gatco graft case against Khaleda and 12 others for causing a loss of Tk 145.64 crore to the national exchequer by allegedly awarding the contract of container handling at the Chittagong port and the Dhaka's Inland Container Depot to Gatco.  

Khaleda on 27 September 2007 filed a petition with the HC challenging the legality of the inclusion of the case under the Emergency Powers Act and seeking a stay order on the trial proceedings.  

In 2008, an HC bench issued a rule and stayed the trial proceedings after hearing the petition of the BNP chief.

In the same year, the proceedings of the graft case were stayed again as Khaleda filed another petition challenging the legality of the case.