Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil, also coordinator of the AL-led grand alliance, informed this to the reporters last night after a meeting of the alliance at his Gulshan residence and hoped the former president will get justice.

The trial court delivered the verdict on January 4 asking Ershad to surrender by today.

Meanwhile, the hearing on a petition, filed on January 10 for withdrawal of the trial court order, will also be held today.

Advocate Sheikh Mohammad Serajul Islam submitted the petition saying Ershad had earlier been in custody because of the same case for more than three years.

Mentioning a provision of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the lawyer demanded withdrawal of the trial court order.

Earlier on December 14 last year, Judge Mohammad Amirul Islam of the First Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court also asked the former president to surrender by today to serve out a High Court (HC) verdict.

Ershad was found guilty of misappropriating Tk 33 crore in a shady deal for purchasing 520 Japanese boats and 10 water-purifying machines for relief operation in 1989.

On July 6, 1995, Judge Jinnat Ara of the trial court sentenced Ershad three years' imprisonment. The court also fined him Tk 10,000 and in default, he will have to serve four more months in jail.

The same year, Ershad filed an appeal with the HC against the lower court verdict.

Later, justice Faisal Mahmud Faizee of the single-member HC bench handed two years' imprisonment to the former president rejecting his appeal.

Faizee in his verdict also asked Ershad to surrender before the trial court without specifying any time or date.