The High Court (HC) has accepted the appeal against the three-year jail sentence of Dr. Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP’s acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.At the same time, Tarique Rahman was acquitted from his six-year and three-year jail sentences as the court found the charges against him unproven.The single bench of Justice Md. Khasruzzaman delivered the verdict on Wednesday (May 28).Earlier, after hearing the appeal on May 26, the High Court had scheduled the verdict for May 28. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was represented by lawyer Asif Hasan, while Tarique and Zubaida’s lawyers were S.M. Shahjahan, Kaiser Kamal, and Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan. Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Abdul Karim appeared for the state.

HC had accepted Zubaida Rahman’s appeal on May 14 and granted her bail, suspending the fine until the case was resolved. The court also waived the 587-day delay in filing the appeal on May 13.

The ACC filed the case on September 26, 2007, accusing Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman, and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of hiding wealth and acquiring assets beyond known income. After trial, on August 2, 2023, the Dhaka Senior Special Judge Court sentenced Tarique Rahman to nine years in total under two sections for unexplained wealth, while Dr. Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years.

Tarique Rahman was sentenced to three years under section 26(2) and six years under section 27(1) of the ACC Act 2004, along with a fine of Tk 30 million. Dr. Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years under section 27(1) and fined Tk 3.5 million. Her sentence was later stayed for one year by executive order after a request.