Scuffle erupts among lawyers during ex-CJ Khairul Haque's bail hearing in HC
Amid the chaos, the court adjourned the hearing and set 17 August as the next date for proceedings
A heated scuffle erupted between pro-Awami League lawyers and state prosecutors inside a High Court courtroom today (11 August) during the bail hearing of former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque in a murder case.
The incident took place this afternoon in the courtroom of the High Court bench of Justice Zakir Hossain and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja.
Amid the chaos, the court adjourned the hearing and set 17 August as the next date for proceedings.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Around 3pm, a legal team representing Khairul Haque, which included senior lawyers MK Rahman, Kamrul Haque Siddiqui, ZI Khan Panna, Mohsin Rashid, Motahar Hossain Saju, and Syed Mamun Mahbub, appeared in court. The state's lawyers were already present.
When the hearing began, Deputy Attorney General Russell Ahmed, representing the state, requested a one-week adjournment, stating the attorney general had asked for the time.
This request was immediately challenged by Khairul Haque's lawyer Mohsin Rashid, who argued that such instructions could not be given to the court.
The exchange quickly escalated into a heated argument between the two groups of lawyers, leading to a scuffle and physical pushing.
State lawyers were heard shouting accusations, questioning the defendant's lawyers' action, saying, "Where were you when former chief justice SK Sinha was forced to leave the country? Today, they have come to seek bail for a degenerate person like Khairul Haque who destroyed democracy."
Amid the commotion, the court repeatedly tried to restore order. Eventually, the court intervened and set the next hearing date for the next Sunday.
The bail application was filed in connection with the murder case filed over a killing during last year's July Uprising.
Khairul, who also served as the former Law Commission chairman, was arrested on 24 July from his Dhanmondi residence by Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police and sent to jail later that night.
He was shown arrested in a separate case on 29 July, filed at Fatullah Police Station in Narayanganj, accusing him of delivering illegal and fabricated verdicts by abolishing the caretaker government system.
On Wednesday (6 August), a Dhaka court granted a seven-day remand in this case.
The murder case stems from the death of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Kaiyum Ahad, who was shot dead on 18 July last year, during the July Uprising in the Kajla area of Jatrabari.
The victim's father, Alauddin, filed the case on 6 July with Jatrabari Police Station, naming 467 people, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
