HC order barring Khairul Haque's arrest without specific case upheld

The Appellate Division has upheld the High Court order directing that former chief justice A B M Khairul Haque cannot be arrested or harassed without a specific case. The apex court disposed of the state's appeal on Sunday, August 9.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by the Chief Justice, passed the order. As a result, the High Court's directive remains in force for Justice Khairul Haque, said his lawyers.

Senior lawyers Kamrul Haque Siddiqui, Sara Hossain, Mostafizur Rahman Khan, Mahbub Shafique and Monayem Nabi Shahin argued for the petitioner. Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury represented the state.

Earlier, on May 17, the High Court bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury had issued a rule and directed that Khairul Haque cannot be arrested or harassed without a specific case.

The state filed an appeal with the Appellate Division against that order. On Sunday, the Appellate Division disposed of the appeal and upheld the High Court's directive.

Justice Khairul Haque had been granted bail by the High Court on May 12 in two murder cases filed over incidents during the July uprising. Following that order, his lawyers had said he was now eligible for release as he had secured bail in all cases against him.

Earlier, on April 28, the Appellate Division had upheld his bail in cases over the killing of a Juba Dal activist during the July uprising, allegations of forging the caretaker government verdict, and five cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Prior to that, on March 8, the High Court had granted him bail in four cases. Later, on March 11, he also secured bail in cases filed by the ACC. The state's appeals against these bail orders were also dismissed by the Appellate Division.

Later, Khairul Haque was shown arrested in the cases over the killing of Abdul Kayum Ahad filed at Jatrabari Police Station and the killing of Rubel filed at Adabar Police Station. After being denied bail at the lower court, he appealed to the High Court and secured bail in both cases on May 12.

Justice Khairul Haque faces a total of seven cases, according to his lawyers, including cases over killings during the July uprising and cases filed by the ACC.

He was arrested from his Dhanmondi residence on July 24 last year and was later shown arrested in the case over the killing of Juba Dal activist Abdul Kayum Ahad in Dhaka's Jatrabari during the July uprising.

Khairul Haque is a former chief justice of Bangladesh. His tenure as chief justice, particularly the verdict on the caretaker government system and other significant judicial decisions, has long been a subject of discussion in political and legal circles.

However, the allegations in the cases against him are still pending trial. Until proven guilty by a final court verdict, he remains legally presumed innocent.

Following the Appellate Division's order on Sunday, there is now no scope to arrest or harass Khairul Haque without a specific case through due legal process, said his lawyers.