A High Court Division bench in Bangladesh has again rejected the bail petition of ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in a graft case.

The High Court (HC) bench comprising Justice Obaidul Hasan and Justice AKM Zahirul Haque on Thursday passed the order after hearing the bail petition.

Zia, chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), for the fourth time sought bail on health and humanitarian grounds in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.

The HC bench passed the rejection order based on a hospital report which said advanced treatment is still possible for her in Bangladesh.

In April 2018, the wheelchair-bound Zia was shifted to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) when she fell ill and has remained there ever since.

Zia has been in jail since 2018 after a court sentenced her over the alleged embezzlement of foreign funds.

In July last year, Zia filed her first petition in the High Court seeking bail on medical grounds in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in which she was jailed for seven years.

Her party leaders wanted her to be released for treatment abroad as, they said, her health kept deteriorating. They complained she was not given bail out of political vengeance.

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud has said Zia's bail was totally a matter of court and there was no question of any interference by the government in her bail issue.