The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today (March 3) upheld the High Court's decision to acquit BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, effectively annulling her seven-year sentence in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.

The ruling was issued by a three-judge panel, headed by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam.

This decision followed a challenge from the prosecution and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), who had filed separate petitions contesting Khaleda Zia's acquittal. 

The court had initially scheduled a hearing for March 2, but it was later postponed to March 3.

On November 27 of the previous year, the High Court acquitted Khaleda Zia and two others, overturning the lower court's verdict, which had sentenced them to prison. 

The two other acquitted individuals were Ziaul Islam Munna, an assistant private secretary to Harris Chowdhury, the former political secretary to then-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

The appeal hearing began on November 20, and permission to prepare the case's paper book was granted on November 3.

In October 2018, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Special Court-5 sentenced Khaleda Zia and three others to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. They were also each fined Tk 10 lakh, with an additional six months in jail if they failed to pay the fine.

The case was initiated by the ACC on August 8, 2011, when it accused four individuals, including Khaleda Zia, of using their influence to illegally raise funds for the Zia Charitable Trust from undisclosed sources. In 2012, the ACC submitted a chargesheet against them.

BDST: 1134 HRS, FEB 03, 2025
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