A Dhaka court issued a notice to former army chief Moeen U Ahmed Sunday asking why his Baridhara house should not be seized by authorities as security in a Tk 1.0 billion defamation suit filed by BNP's former state minister for power Iqbal Hassan Mahmud Tuku, reports bdnews24.com.

Third Joint District Judge's Court in Dhaka Judge Saiful Islam gave Moeen three weeks time to reply to the notice.

The court rejected a plea by Tuku's lawyers for an interim ban on sale of his (Moeen's) Baridhara property.

Tuku's lawyers Moudud Ahmed and Mahbubuddin Khokan had earlier filed the case with the court, claiming Tk 1.0 billion in damage for defamation and requesting authorities to impound the Baridhara house.

The case said in presence of media men Moeen on March 27, 2007 at a tea party in honour of the Freedom Fighters' Contingent reportedly accused politicians of the past BNP government of massive corruption.

The former army chief was quoted at the time as saying that a whopping Tk 200 billion was smuggled out of the country from the power sector alone.

Gen Moeen retired on June 15 this year and, according to newspaper reports, left for the US last week with wife Nazneen Moeen.

He was appointed army chief in 2005 and promoted to the rank of general on May 24, 2007, under the 2007-2008 military-installed caretaker government.

It is widely speculated that the armed forces led by Moeen played a major role during the clampdown of emergency on January 11, 2007, and the subsequent two-year caretaker government regime.

Tuku, wife Rumana Mahmud and their two children were sent to jail on graft charges during that period.

Convicted in a corruption case and facing a 10-year sentence, Tuku has since secured bail from the High Court, but could not run in the general election last year because of his conviction.

Instead, Rumana won the Sirajganj-2 seat in the December polls and is now a BNP MP.