HC Justice Akhtaruzzaman resigns after being sent on leave over irregularities
Justice Akhtaruzzaman, while serving as a district judge, delivered the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust case on 8 February 2018 that convicted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia
High Court Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman has resigned after being sent on leave over allegations of irregularities.
He submitted his resignation letter to Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed today (31 August), confirmed sources at the Supreme Court administration.
Justice Akhtaruzzaman, while serving as a district judge, delivered the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust case on 8 February 2018 that convicted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
She was sentenced to five years in prison and served more than two years before being released under a government executive order on 25 March 2020. Since then, her sentence has remained suspended with periodic extensions of the release order.
On 26 August, the Supreme Judicial Council completed a final hearing on Justice Akhtaruzzaman. Appearing before the council led by the chief justice, he presented his explanation regarding the allegations brought against him.
Earlier on 16 October last year, Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed sent 12 High Court justices, including Justice Akhtaruzzaman, on leave following allegations of corruption and of working as associates of the previous government. Their judicial responsibilities in High Court benches were suspended.
The 12 justices sent on leave were Naima Haider, Sheikh Hasan Arif, Ashish Ranjan Das, Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, SM Moniruzzaman, Ataur Rahman Khan, Shahed Nuruddin, Md Akhtaruzzaman, Md Aminul Islam, SM Masud Hossain Dolon, Khizir Hayat and Khondker Diliruzzaman.
Following this, the Supreme Judicial Council led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed launched an investigation into the allegations against them.
