Ex-CJ Khairul sent to jail over July Uprising murder case
Around 8:15pm, Khairul was brought into the courtroom under heavy police security
A Dhaka court today (24 July) sent former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque to jail in connection with the murder case of teenager Abdul Kaiyum Ahad, who was shot dead during the July Uprising in the capital's Jatrabari area last year.
Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sanaullah passed the order following a hearing tonight, according to court sources.
Earlier in the evening, around 7:45pm, Khairul was produced before the court by Jatrabari Police Station Inspector Khaled Hasan, investigating officer of the case, who submitted a petition seeking his imprisonment.
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Around 8:15pm, Khairul was brought into the courtroom under heavy police security.
The petition stated that Abdul Kaiyum, son of the plaintiff Md Alauddin, was shot in the face and chest allegedly by the accused during the protest, collapsing near the police box. Several others were also fatally shot during the incident.
The petition also alleged that Khairul, during his tenure as chief justice from 1 May 2011, was involved in acts of criminal breach of trust and committed offences of sedition by misusing judicial authority through forged and fraudulent verdicts.
It further claimed that related cases against him are pending in various police stations, including in Narayanganj district.
Given Haque's influential position and the risk of him using his power to obstruct the investigation, the prosecution requested that he be held in jail until the trial is concluded, which was granted by the court.
No defence lawyer appeared on behalf of Khairul during the hearing.
News of his court appearance prompted Pro-BNP lawyers and agitated citizens to gather at the premises. Protesters chanted slogans and expressed outrage against the former top judge.
Earlier in the morning, the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested the former chief justice from his residence in the capital's Dhanmondi.
According to case sources, during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement on 18 July 2024, Abdul Kaiyum Ahad was shot in front of the Kajla police box in the Jatrabari area.
Jatrabari Police Station's Officer-in-Charge, Abul Hasan, allegedly fired multiple rounds into both of the boy's legs, killing him on the spot.
Following the incident, the victim's father, Alauddin, filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station, naming 467 individuals and between 1,000 and 2,000 unidentified persons as accused.
Justice Khairul Haque served as the 19th chief justice of Bangladesh from 30 September 2010 to 17 May 2011.
After retirement, he was appointed chairman of the Law Commission. He resigned from that post on 13 August 2024 following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.
