The Appellate Division on Wednesday released the full verdict acquitting BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, overturning the High Court ruling that had upheld a 10-year jail sentence against her.
The 59-page judgment, authored by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, was published on the Supreme Court’s website.
A five-member appellate bench led by the Chief Justice unanimously allowed Khaleda Zia’s appeal.
Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Badruddoza Badol, Ruhul Quddus Kajol, and Kayser Kamal represented Khaleda in court, assisted by Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan and Maksud Ullah.
Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan appeared for Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal. Additional Attorney General Arshadur Rauf and Anik R Haque represented the state, while lawyer Asif Hasan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Zainul Abedin said the case “had no merit” and claimed the previous judgments were politically motivated.
He added that the court had not only allowed Khaleda’s appeal but also acquitted Tarique Rahman and others who did not file appeals, ruling that the prosecution was “malicious and vindictive.”
ACC counsel Asif Hasan said all four appeals in the case were allowed, and the convictions handed down by both the trial court and the High Court were scrapped, granting acquittal to all accused, including Tarique Rahman and Kamal Siddiqui.
Earlier, on 11 November last year, the Appellate Division had suspended the High Court ruling that increased Khaleda Zia’s sentence and allowed her to appeal. Khaleda filed her appeal shortly afterward.
On 10 February 2018, Khaleda appealed following a five-year sentence handed down by the Special Judge’s Court-5 in Dhaka on 8 February. Later, on 30 October 2018, a High Court bench enhanced her sentence to 10 years while rejecting appeals from other convicts in the case.
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