The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a High Court order granting bail to former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque in a murder case filed over his alleged connection to a murder during the July Uprising in Dhaka’s Jatrabari.
Chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the SC, Justice Md Rezaul Haque, passed “no order” after hearing a state petition seeking to stay the HC bail order.
Lawyers for Khairul Haque said the decision removed the final legal obstacle to his release from prison.
Advocate Md Motaher Hossain Sazu represented the former chief justice, while Deputy Attorney General Syeda Shajia Sharmin appeared for the state.
On June 30, the HC issued a rule and granted Huq bail after a trial court had rejected his application on 21 June.
According to case files, a 20-year-old named Khobaib was killed on 5 August, 2024, in the Jatrabari area by gunfire from police and Awami League activists during the student protests
According to the case documents, the victim died after being shot during a clash involving police and activists from the then-ruling Awami League.
On 16 November, 2024, the victim’s brother, Jobayer Ahmed, filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station, naming 80 individuals, including ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Justice Khairul Haque was named as one of the key accused in the case.
Khairul Haque has been in custody since his arrest on 24 July last year and has been facing legal proceedings in several cases since then.
