The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the High Court verdicts that scrapped four extortion cases filed against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman during the rule of the military-backed caretaker government in 2007.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam dismissed four separate leave to appeal petitions filed by the state challenging the HC judgements.

A section of pro-BNP lawyers, including Zainul Abedin, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Md Bodruddoza Badal, Kayser Kamal, and Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, appeared for Tarique while Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state during hearing of the petitions.

After the SC passed the orders, lawyer Kayser Kamal told reporters that his client is still accused in 18 to 19 cases although most of the cases lodged against him have already been dismissed.

Many false and fabricated cases were filed from political motives to harass Tarique and tarnish the image of BNP during the regimes of military-backed caretaker government and Sheikh Hasina led government, he added.

On October 23 last year, the HC scrapped the four extortion cases after hearing the rules that questioned the legality of the trials of the cases.

The rules were issued by the court following petitions filed by Tarique in 2008, when he was in Bangladesh.

Maksud Ullah, a lawyer for the BNP leader, earlier said one Azam Ahmed lodged one of the four cases with Gulshan Police Station on March 8, 2007, on charges of extorting Tk 1 crore.

On March 27 the same year, Aftab Uddin, managing director of Reza Construction, filed another case with the same police station over the extortion of Tk 1.32 crore.

Tarique was accused by one Mir Zahir Hossain over the extortion of Tk 53 lakh on April 1 that year. It was filed with Dhanmondi Police Station.

The other case was lodged with Gulshan Police Station on May 4, 2007, on charges of demanding a portion from the earnings of a project, lawyer Maksud added.