The High Court is set to deliver its verdict on May 28 regarding an appeal filed by Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, challenging her three-year prison sentence in a corruption case.
The HC bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman fixed the date on Monday after completing the hearing on the appeal. Zubaida, who returned to Bangladesh on May 6 after 17 years of exile, had earlier been granted bail by the same bench on May 14.
The court also stayed the fine imposed on her by the trial court and called for records of the case from the lower court.
Advocates SM Shahjahan, Kayser Kamal, and Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan represented Zubaida Rahman, while lawyer Ashif Hassan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
According to Advocate Maksud Ullah, the bail has been stayed. On May 13, the court also condoned a 587-day delay in filing the appeal, allowing the case to proceed. However, as per legal procedures, appeals must be filed within 60 days of a trial court’s decision, explained Zubaida’s counsel to The Daily Star.
The corruption case stems from a 2007 charge brought by the ACC, which accused Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman, and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 4.82 crore and concealing information about assets valued at Tk 2.16 crore.
The case was filed at Kafrul Police Station on September 26, 2007.
On August 2, 2023, a Dhaka court sentenced Tarique Rahman to nine years in prison and fined him Tk3 crore. Zubaida was sentenced to three years and fined Tk35 lakh, with additional jail terms stipulated for failure to pay the fines.