The High Court Thursday ruled out two orders of the CMM court placing detained BNP senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman on 3-day police remand for interrogation in two extortion cases filed with Gulshan and Shahbagh police stations, reports UNB.

Delivering the judgment, upon separate petitions challenging the validity of the CMM court''s remand orders, a division bench, headed by Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury, passed the orders.

The court made its rule absolute. The court, however, said the accused may be interrogated at the jail gate in connection with criminal cases.

On Nov 19 and 26 last year, the chief metropolitan magistrate court here, following police applications, placed Tarique on remand for interrogation in the two cases.

Barrister Nawshad Zamir and Barrister Nasir Uddin Ashim had filed the petitions for Tarique, detained ex-PM Khaleda Zia''s eldest son. Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mian appeared for the petitioners while Deputy Attorney General Abdur Rouf for the state.

The rising BNP leader was arrested on March 7 last year amid a crackdown on politicians as part of the current anti-graft drive.

Since then, he has been implicated in over a dozen charges of extortion and corruption.