The High Court Division of the Supreme Court scheduled May 22 (today) for further hearing of the appeal lodged by Dr Zubaida Rahman, spouse of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, challenging her three-year imprisonment in a graft case.
The order was passed on May 21 by the single-member bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman, who is presiding over the matter as part of the Appellate Division's judicial proceedings. Barrister Kaiser Kamal, SM Shahjahan and Mahbub Uddin Khokon appeared before the court on behalf of the appellant, who was assisted by advocates Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan and Md Maqsud Ullah. ACC was represented by Advocate Asif Hasan, while the State was represented by Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Abdul Karim.
The appeal stems from a judgment dated August 2, 2023 delivered by Judge Md Asaduzzaman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court, whereby Zubaida was convicted under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years along with a fine amounting to Tk 35 lakh.,Tarique was simultaneously sentenced to a cumulative nine-year prison term and fined Tk 30 million having been found guilty under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the same statute.
The criminal proceeding originated from a case instituted on September 26, 2007, during the military-backed caretaker. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lodged the FIR at Kafrul Police Station accusing Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu, mother of Zubaida of concealing wealth information and amassing assets beyond known legal sources.
