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A Dhaka court has ordered former chief justice and former chairman of the Law Commission ABM Khairul Haque to be questioned in police custody for seven days in a case over corruption and judicial fraud.
Police had requested the court to remand him for 10 days into their custody for questioning. After a hearing on Wednesday, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sanaullah made the decision, bdnews24.com reports.
Supreme Court lawyer Muzahedul Islam Shahin filed the case with Shahbagh police on August 27.
Khairul served as the head of the judiciary from October 1, 2010, to May 17, 2011.
On May 10, 2011, an Appellate Division bench led by him delivered the verdict declaring the 13th Amendment to the Constitution illegal, effectively abolishing the caretaker government system.
After his retirement, Khairul was appointed chairman of the Law Commission for a three-year term on Jul 23, 2013. He was later reappointed several times following the expiry of that initial term.
Following the fall of the Awami League government in the July Uprising, Khairul resigned from the Law Commission on August 13. Since then, a number of different cases have been filed against him on different charges.
Khairul was arrested at his Dhanmondi home on July 24.
He was shown arrested in a case filed on July 6 this year in connection with the fatal shooting of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Kaiyum Ahad during last year's anti-discrimination protests and was subsequently sent to jail.
Ahad died on July 18, 2024, after being shot during clashes in the Kajla area of Jatrabari amid the nationwide movement demanding equal rights and non-discriminatory state policy.
The murder case was filed by Ahad’s father, Alauddin, with Jatrabari Police Station. A total of 467 people were named as accused in the case, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
On August 25, another case was filed against Khairul at the Fatulla Police Station in Narayanganj. The case was filed by General Secretary of Fatulla Thana BNP and former president of the Narayanganj District Bar Association Abdul Bari Bhuiyan in connection with the verdict declaring the caretaker government system unconstitutional 13 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has also opened an inquiry against Khairul over allegations that he unlawfully acquired a government plot.