A court in Dhaka has denied bail to former chief justice and former chairman of the Law Commission, ABM Khairul Haque, in a murder case filed over the death of a Juba Dal activist in Jatrabari area during the July Movement.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Masum Mia passed the order on Thursday following a hearing.
Defense counsel Advocate Monayem Nabi Shahin during the hearing said that the incident took place on July 18 last year but the case was filed almost after a year on July 6 this year.
There is no valid explanation as to why the case was filed after such a delay.
He argued that former chief justice has been made accused in the case with an intention to ‘harass his client’.
Khairul Haque retired from the post of chief justice on June 17, 2011, and until August 5 last year, he was under police protection.
On the day of the incident, Khairul Haque had returned to his residence after finishing his official work at the Law Commission office and did not visit Jatrabri area. This information is recorded at the relevant police headquarters, the Defense counsel said.
In addition, the 81-year-old Khairul suffers from several complex health issues so the lawyer pleaded for bail, saying Haque would face trial if granted bail and would not flee the country.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected his bail plea.
According to the case, on July 18, Jubo Dal activist Abdul Kaiyum Ahad who was shot dead in the Kajla area of Jatrabari during the July Uprising.
The victim’s father, Alauddin, filed the case on July 6 this year with Jatrabari Police Station, naming 467 people, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Meanwhile, on July 24, Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Khairul Haque from his Dhanmondi and was sent to jail later that night.
On July 30, he was placed on a seven-day remand in police custody in a corruption and document forgery case.