The Appellate Division today suspended the 10-year sentence given to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. At the same time, the court granted Khaleda Zia’s leave-to-appeal against the sentence.

A three-judge bench headed by Appellate Division Senior Justice Md. Ashfaqul Islam passed the order on Monday (November 11).

Earlier, the hearing on Khaleda Zia’s leave-to-appeal against the 10-year prison sentence by the High Court in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case ended. On Sunday (November 10), the three-judge bench led by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam fixed the date for the verdict today.

Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin and lawyer barrister Kaisar Kamal were in favor of the petition in the court. Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman was on behalf of the state. Lawyer Asif Hasan was on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

In view of Khaleda Zia’s petition on November 4, the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Rezaul Haque fixed November 10 as the date for the hearing on two leave-to-appeals.

On 14 March 2019, Khaleda Zia filed two leave-to-appeals in the Appellate Division.

Mentioned that the Judicial Court gave its verdict in the Zia Charitable Trust case on 29 October 2018. In the verdict, Khaleda Zia was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. Khaleda Zia appealed to the High Court (HC) on November 18 of the same year against this verdict. On 30 April 2018, an HC double bench accepted the appeal and suspended the fine order passed by the Judicial Court in Khaleda Zia’s case.

On 8 February 2018, Special Judge Court-5 gave the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust case. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years and fined in the verdict. Khaleda Zia appealed to the High Court (HC) against this verdict in the same year. After the hearing on this appeal, the HC gave its verdict on 30 October 2018. In the verdict, Khaleda Zia’s sentence was extended by five more years and fixed at 10 years of imprisonment. 

Later, Khaleda Zia filed two separate leave-to-appeals in the Appellate Division in 2019 after the full verdict of the High Court was published.

Meanwhile, after the fall of the Awami League government in the mass-students’ uprising, Khaleda Zia was released on August 6, waiving her sentence in the Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust cases. 

After that, Khaleda Zia appealed for permission to prepare a paper book as a preliminary to hearing the appeal filed in the High Court against the verdict of the Judicial Court in the Zia Charitable Trust case. Khaleda Zia filed an appeal in the High Court in 2018.

Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin and lawyer Kaiser Kamal heard on behalf of Khaleda Zia in the High Court. Lawyer Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan and Md. Maksud Ullah accompanied them. Deputy Attorney General Md. Jasim Sarkar heard for the state.

On the other hand, Khaleda Zia’s two separate leave-to-appeals filed in 2019 against the verdict of the Judicial Court and the extension in sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust case came up in the order of no. 6 and 7 in the agenda of the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division on Sunday. The court has fixed November 10 as the date for hearing the petitions in the two appeal hearings.