The High Court yesterday granted six-month bail to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a defamation case filed against her for making ‘derogatory remarks’ about freedom fighters and martyred intellectuals. The HC bench comprising Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz and Justice Kashefa Hussain granted the bail following a petition filed by Khaleda Zia seeking bail in the case.

However, the BNP chief could not get released from jail as she is arrested in some other cases, lawyers concerned said. Khaleda filed the bail petition on Monday with the HC in the defamation case filed in Dhaka in 2016. On January 5, 2016, AB Siddiqui, president of Jananetri Parishad, filed the case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (CMM) in Dhaka.

As per prosecution, Khaleda Zia questioned the actual number of Liberation War martyrs at a discussion held in Dhaka on December 21, 2015. Besides, she made objectionable remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali stood for Khaleda while Deputy Attorney General Kamrul Ahsan Khan Aslam for the state.