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The High Court has postponed for two months the hearing of a bail petition by former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque and his plea to quash a case over the killing of a Jubo Dal activist during last year's July Uprising protests in Dhaka.
On Sunday, the panel of Justice Md Zakir Hossain and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja granted more time after Khairul's lawyers sought an extension, bdnews24.com reports.
The next hearing has been scheduled for a week after the Supreme Court’s vacation, which runs from Sept 7 to Oct 16.
The case relates to the death of Abdul Kaiyum Ahad, a member of the BNP’s youth wing, during the student-led protests in the capital’s Jatrabari area.
Earlier, on Aug 11, a hearing was disrupted by scuffles and shouting between lawyers representing Khairul and those from the state. Proceedings were adjourned after the commotion.
That day, Deputy Attorney General Russel Ahmed requested a week’s delay, prompting objections from Khairul’s lawyers. The disagreement escalated into pushing and shoving, despite repeated attempts by the court to restore order.
Khairul served as head of Bangladesh's judiciary from October 2010 to May 2011.
In May 2011, a bench led by him struck down the 13th amendment to the Constitution, declaring the caretaker government system illegal.
After retiring, he was appointed chairman of the Law Commission in 2013 and later reappointed several times.
After the fall of the Awami League regime in the face of a student-led mass uprising last year, he resigned from the commission on Aug 13. Since then, several cases have been filed against him.
On Jul 24, police detectives arrested him at his home in Dhanmondi and he was later sent to jail in connection with the Jatrabari murder case. Days later, he was also placed under arrest in another case filed in Narayanganj, accusing him of “delivering illegal verdicts and fabricating judgments”.