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Published : 30 Jul 2025, 10:54 AM
Police have been granted seven days to grill former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque in their custody in connection with a case accusing him of issuing “illegal rulings” with malicious intent and fabricating verdicts during his tenure on the bench.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sanaullah issued the order on Wednesday in response to a police petition seeking a 10-day remand for Khairul, according to state lawyer Shamsuddoha Sumon.
No lawyer represented Khairul at the hearing. The court also did not record a statement from him.
Khairul served as the head of the judiciary from Oct 1, 2010, to May 17, 2011.
Among the most notable decisions passed by the appellate bench under his watch was the verdict on May 10, 2011, that annulled the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, effectively rendering the caretaker government system unconstitutional.
The case was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Muzahedul Islam Shahin on Aug 27 last year, accusing the former chief justice of fraud and corruption related to that verdict.
According to the complaint, “Justice Khairul Haque, influenced by the words of the former prime minister for a good post after retirement, changed the summary order of the 13th Amendment case on May 10, 2011 and illegally published the full verdict of the appeal case on Sept 16, 2012.”
The plaintiff alleged that while the original judgment delivered in open court allowed the continuation of the caretaker government system for two more terms, the full verdict omitted that provision, constituting an act of fraud.
The caretaker government provision had been introduced through the 13th constitutional amendment in 1996 and later repealed by the 15th Amendment during the Awami League government’s tenure.
A writ petition challenging the 13th Amendment was originally filed in 2001, when the BNP was in power.
In 2004, the High Court upheld the amendment. That ruling was later appealed, leading to the 2011 decision by the Appellate Division.
After retiring from the Supreme Court, Khairul was appointed chairman of the Law Commission on Jul 23, 2013. He was reappointed to the post multiple times.
He resigned from the Law Commission on Aug 13, 2024, after the fall of the Awami League government during the July Uprising. Several cases were subsequently filed against him.
On Jul 24, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch arrested Khairul at his home in Dhanmondi.
He was later shown arrested in connection with the murder of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Qayyum Ahad in Jatrabari and sent to jail.
He also faces a separate case related to the 13th Amendment verdict, filed by Abdul Bari Bhuiyan, a former president of the District Bar Association and general secretary of Fatulla Thana BNP, on Aug 25 last year.
The case, filed at Fatulla Police Station in Narayanganj, accuses him of altering the judgment and committing forgery.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating allegations that Khairul illegally acquired a land plot. As part of its inquiry, the ACC has requested relevant documents from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, RAJUK, and the Excise Department.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE HEARING?
Khairul was brought to court from jail under heavy security on Wednesday morning, shortly before 10am, for a hearing on his remand in a case filed at Shahbagh Police Station.
Sub-Inspector Khalek Mia of Shahbagh Police Station, the investigating officer in the case, presented Khairul as arrested and requested a 10-day remand for questioning.
The hearing began at 10:01am.
The court first ordered that Khairul be officially shown as arrested in the case. It then proceeded to hear arguments on the remand application.
During the hearing, Inspector Md Asaduzzaman of the Prosecution Department told the court: “The accused Khairul Haque was a former chief justice. Four out of seven members ruled in favour of maintaining the supervision system in the 13th Amendment. However, after retiring, he gave a fabricated verdict on the 13th Amendment on Sept 16, 2012.”
From the dock, Khairul responded: “Not correct, not correct.”
Asaduzzaman continued, “We have come to know that the judge moves but the order does not move. But he moved the order. Because of his verdict, three generations could not vote -- those who are now 35 or 36 years old. Because of that, the 5th of August happened, the July murders happened. A 10-day remand is needed to know why and for what reason he gave that verdict, and whether anyone else is involved.”
State lawyers Azizul Haque Didar and Muhammad Shamsuddoha Sumon argued in support of the remand.
“Sheikh Hasina’s government was illegal,” Didar said.
“It was Khairul Haque who made the arrangements to make her a dictator and a long-term ruler. People all over the world have seen her actions, you have seen them too.”
Sumon added, “He was a bigger Awami Leaguer than Sheikh Mujib. He overturned the verdict on the 13th Amendment. He tarnished the justice system. Because of his system, incidents like Aug 5 happened. Hasina had to flee. Hundreds of young people lost their lives. Thousands of young people were injured.”
Throughout the hearing, Khairul was seen shaking his head and repeating, “No, no,” in response to the accusations.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court granted a seven-day remand and permitted police to question Khairul.
