The High Court has annulled the sedition case lodged against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia concerning her comments on the number of martyrs from the Liberation War. The ruling was issued by a bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain following the hearing of an appeal on Wednesday. Khaleda Zia was represented by Barristers Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Kaiser Kamal, alongside Senior Advocate Zainul Abedin, Advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Barrister Nasir Uddin Asim, and Advocate Zakir Hossain.

The court noted that the case required approval from the home ministry, which had not been secured before the case was filed.

In December 2015, Advocate Moshiur Malek, the president of the Bangabandhu Foundation, initiated the case against Khaleda Zia under Section 123(a) of the Bangladesh Penal Code for allegedly committing “blasphemy against the state” and “advocating the abrogation of state sovereignty.”

This action was prompted by Khaleda's statements during a discussion organized by the Nationalist Freedom Fighters at the Engineers Institution Bangladesh on December 21, 2015, where she allegedly questioned both the number of martyrs in the Liberation War and the contributions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Following these remarks, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqur Rahman instructed the Shahbagh police to conduct an investigation.

Nevertheless, the High Court has now determined that the case is invalid due to the absence of the required governmental authorization.