Former Chief Justice A B M Khairul Haque has been detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
He was picked up from a residence in Dhanmondi around 8:30 AM on Thursday morning.
The detention was confirmed by DB’s Joint Commissioner Md. Nasirul Islam, who told the media that the former Chief Justice was taken to the DB headquarters on Minto Road in the capital.
Khairul Haque is facing three cases filed in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area and in Narayanganj, according to Nasirul Islam. He is likely to be shown arrested in one of those cases.
Justice Khairul Haque has long been a subject of political controversy, especially for delivering the landmark verdict that abolished the caretaker government system in Bangladesh.
One of the major cases against him was filed at the Fatulla Model Police Station in Narayanganj, accusing him of forging judicial verdicts and committing acts tantamount to sedition.
The complaint was lodged on August 25 last year by Abdul Bari Bhuiyan, former president of the District Bar Association and general secretary of Fatulla Thana BNP. Additional cases have also been filed against him in Dhaka.
Appointed as the 19th Chief Justice of Bangladesh on September 27, 2010, Khairul Haque officially took office on September 30 of the same year and retired on May 17, 2011.
On July 23, 2013, he was appointed Chairman of the Law Commission for a three-year term, a position he continued to hold through several reappointments until his resignation on August 13 last year.
During his tenure in the Appellate Division, Khairul Haque delivered key judgments, including those declaring the 13th constitutional amendment (which introduced the caretaker government) and fatwas unconstitutional.
While in the High Court, he was involved in significant rulings including the verdicts in the Bangabandhu assassination case and the fifth amendment case.
He also gave verdicts on protecting Dhaka’s rivers and the issue of the proclamation of Bangladesh`s independence.
