Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was acquitted in two cases related to the Barapukuria coalmine and the Zia Charitable Trust on Wednesday.
The High Court acquittal overturned a lower court verdict that sentenced her to seven years in prison in 2018.
The rulings marked a crucial legal victory for the veteran politician, who has faced numerous cases over the years.
The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain also released her late political secretary Harris Chowdhury, and Monirul Islam, former private secretary to Dhaka鈥檚 ex-mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the Zia Charitable Trust case in 2011, alleging embezzlement of trust funds.
However, the High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Khaleda鈥檚 appeal, which argued that the charges were politically motivated.
Khaleda鈥檚 sentence in the case had been remitted by a presidential order following the fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government and her subsequent fleeing to India facing a student-led uprising on August 5.
In a separate decision, Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 acquitted Khaleda and two former cabinet members, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, in the Barapukuria coalmine graft case.
Filed by the ACC in 2008, the case accused 16 individuals of misusing power to award a contract to a Chinese company, allegedly causing a loss of Tk聽159 crore to the state.
Despite clearing Khaleda and her colleagues, the court framed charges against four other accused, paving the way for the trial to proceed.
Khaleda鈥檚 legal team hailed the decisions as a significant step toward justice.
Her senior counsel Zainul Abedin argued before the High Court that Khaleda had sought a legal resolution, refusing to rely on administrative relief.
He emphasised that the cases against her were part of a broader pattern of politically motivated charges.
Khaleda, who has faced a total of 37 cases, has now been cleared in at least 20 of them, according to her lawyer Zoynal Abedin Meshbah.
Five of the cases, including the Barapukuria and Zia Charitable Trust cases, were filed during the military-backed caretaker government with proceedings continuing under the Awami League government.
Despite Wednesday鈥檚 rulings, Khaleda鈥檚 legal battles are far from over.
Her appeal against a ten-year sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust case remains pending with the Appellate Division.
The ACC had initially sought an increase in her sentence, which the High Court granted in 2018, raising it from five to ten years.
Another high-profile case involving Niko Resources, filed during the caretaker government, also remains pending at Dhaka Special Judge鈥檚 Court.
In March 2020, amid the Covid pandemic, the Awami League government granted Khaleda temporary release from prison under an executive order on conditions.
The conditional release has been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail considering her health condition.
