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High Court Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, who had been placed on leave amid an inquiry into allegations of irregularities by the Supreme Judicial Council, has resigned.
Justice Akhtaruzzaman was the trial court judge who had sentenced BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to jail in the Zia Orphanage Trust case, reports bdnews24.com.
In a routine update on the Supreme Court’s website on Sunday, the court announced: “High Court Division Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, who was under investigation by the Supreme Judicial Council, submitted his resignation letter signed by the president today (August 31, 2025) through the chief justice.”
The resignation followed the council’s completion of its final hearing on the allegations against him on Aug 26.
On Oct 16 last year, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed sent 12 High Court judges on leave after allegations of misconduct surfaced.
Justice Akhtaruzzaman was among them.
The others were Naima Haider, Sheikh Hassan Arif, Ashish Ranjan Das, Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, SM Maniruzzaman, Ataur Rahman Khan, Shahed Nuruddin, Md Aminul Islam, SM Masud Hossain Dolon, Khizir Hayat and Khandaker Diliruzzaman.
The Supreme Judicial Council, headed by Chief Justice Refaat, later opened an investigation into the allegations.
After the fall of the Awami League government, the body was reconstituted to oversee the removal of judges.
The three-member council is led by Chief Justice Refaat, with the two most senior justices of the Appellate Division - Md Ashfaqul Islam and Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury - serving as its members.