Former Chief Justice Khairul Haque’s bail upheld in 5 cases
The bail granted to former Chief Justice A B M Khairul Haque in five separate cases, including the killing of a Jubo Dal activist in Dhaka’s Jatrabari during the July mass uprising, has been upheld.
The Appellate Division dismissed separate leave-to-appeal (applications seeking permission to appeal) and petitions filed by the state against the High Court’s bail orders.
The order was issued today, Tuesday, by the Appellate Division bench headed by the Chief Justice.
In four of the cases, including the killing of a Jubo Dal activist in Jatrabari during the July mass uprising and allegations of forgery related to the caretaker government verdict, the High Court granted bail to Khairul Haque on 8 March.
In another case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), he was granted bail by the High Court on 11 March.
Following this, the state filed separate petitions in the Appellate Division seeking a stay on the High Court’s bail orders.
The petitions were placed on the cause list of the Chamber Judge’s Court on 8 April. On that day, the court scheduled them for hearing in the regular bench of the Appellate Division on 26 April. The hearing and order were accordingly held today.
Additional Attorney General Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan appeared for the state, assisted by Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud.
Senior lawyer Qumrul Haque Siddique appeared for Khairul Haque, along with senior lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju, lawyer Jahangir Hossain, Ashiq Ul Haque, and others.
After the hearing, senior lawyer Qumrul Haque Siddique told Prothom Alo that the Appellate Division dismissed the state’s leave-to-appeal petitions and related applications. As a result, the High Court’s bail orders in the five separate cases remain in effect.
He added that if there are no other cases, there is no legal bar to Khairul Haque’s release from jail.
However, according to a lawyer familiar with the matter, after Khairul Haque was granted bail in these five cases, he was shown arrested in two separate murder cases filed at Jatrabari and Adabor police stations on 30 March.
Khairul Haque served as Chief Justice from 30 September 2010, to 17 May 2011. Under his leadership, the Appellate Division delivered a verdict on 10 May 2011, abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
He was arrested from his residence in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, on 24 July last year by police. He was later shown arrested in a case related to the killing of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Kaiyum Ahad during the July mass uprising in Jatrabari. He has remained in custody since then.
A case was filed against Khairul Haque on 27 August last year at Shahbagh police station by Supreme Court lawyer Muzahedul Islam Shahin over allegations of tampering with the caretaker government verdict.
On the same allegation, another case was filed against him at Bandar police station in Narayanganj on 25 August last year by a person named Nurul Islam Molla.
Additionally, the ACC filed a case against Khairul Haque in August last year over allegations of illegally acquiring a plot.