A Dhaka court has sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to a total of 21 years in prison in three separate cases over the alleged misuse of power to secure the allocation of government land in the Purbachal New Town Project.The court found that Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power, abused her authority to obtain 30 kathas of state-owned land in the project area.Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, judge of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 handed down the verdict on Thursday (November 27). In each of the three cases, Sheikh Hasina was handed a seven-year prison term, to run consecutively, amounting to 21 years in total.On July 31, the court framed charges in three of the six cases and issued arrest warrants as the accused failed to appear. Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 framed charges in the remaining three identical cases the same day. Earlier, on July 20, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib transferred all six cases to the trial courts after repeated non-appearance by the accused. On July 1, the court issued a gazette notification summoning 100 accused, including Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Joy.

The ACC filed the six cases between January 12 and 14, 2025, and submitted charge-sheets on March 10. The cases involve allegations of irregularities in multiple RAJUK plot allocations, including a 10-katha plot in Purbachal and separate cases implicating Hasina, members of her family, and several others.