Ex-Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque granted bail in four cases

The High Court has granted bail to former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque in four separate cases, including the killing of a Jubo Dal activist during the July mass protests and allegations of verdict forgery during the caretaker government.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Khairul Alam and Justice Saghir Hossain passed the order on Sunday (March 8).

The decision also disposed of a rule concerning bail in these cases.

Senior lawyers Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, Sara Hossain, Saeed Ahmed Raja, and Monayem Nabi Shahin represented the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Abdullayeh Al Mahmud appeared for the state.

Khairul Haque was arrested on July 24 last year from his residence in the capital's Dhanmondi, and later shown arrested in connection with the killing of Jubo Dal worker Abdul Kaiyum Ahad in Jatrabari during the July protests.

In addition to the July protest case, Khairul Haque faced four other cases, including caretaker government verdict forgery filed on August 27 at Shahbagh Police Station, and three others in Narayanganj—two on August 25 by Abdul Bari Bhuiya and Nurul Islam Molla, and one on August 4 by the Anti-Corruption Commission over plot fraud.

After being denied bail by lower courts, Khairul Haque appealed to the High Court, which had issued a bail rule in five cases. Hearings in four of these cases, excluding the ACC case, concluded last Wednesday.

ABM Khairul Haque was appointed the 19th Chief Justice of Bangladesh on September 27, 2010, with his tenure commencing on September 30, 2010. He retired on May 17, 2011.