Former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, best known for delivering the verdict that declared the non-partisan caretaker government system unconstitutional, has been detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
According to DB Joint Commissioner Md Nasirul Islam, Khairul Haque was picked up from a residence in the capital’s Dhanmondi area on Thursday morning and taken to the DB headquarters on Minto Road for interrogation.
The former chief justice faces multiple charges, including sedition and delivering a fabricated judgment through judicial fraud. One case was filed at Narayanganj’s Fatullah Model Police Station by Abdul Bari Bhuiyan, a former president of the district bar association and general secretary of Fatullah Thana BNP. The complaint accuses Haque of manipulating legal procedures to serve political interests. Another case was filed at Shahbagh Police Station on August 27 last year by Supreme Court lawyer Muzahidul Islam Shaheen, citing allegations of corruption, bias, and illegal judicial conduct.
Khairul Haque served as the 19th Chief Justice of Bangladesh from October 1, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Just a week before retirement, he handed down the highly controversial judgment that annulled the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, effectively abolishing the caretaker government system. Despite significant opposition from leading constitutional experts including Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Rafiq-ul Haque, Barrister M Amir-ul Islam, and former Attorney General Mahmudul Islam, Justice Haque proceeded with the ruling.
The verdict split the Appellate Division, with three justices dissenting. However, the final and deciding vote was cast by Khairul Haque himself, tipping the majority toward the declaration that the caretaker system was unconstitutional. This judgment has since been widely criticized for its lasting impact on Bangladesh’s electoral and democratic framework.
Khairul Haque was initially appointed as an additional judge of the High Court Division in 1998 under the first Sheikh Hasina government. He was made a permanent judge in 2000, promoted to the Appellate Division in July 2009 following the Awami League’s return to power, and controversially appointed Chief Justice in 2010 by superseding two senior judges.
After retirement, he was appointed Chairman of the Law Commission on July 23, 2013. His term was extended several times until he resigned from the post on August 13 last year, amid growing criticism of the institution’s politicization.
The arrest of the former chief justice marks a significant moment in Bangladesh’s post-July Uprising political landscape, raising questions about accountability, transitional justice, and the judiciary’s role in dismantling democratic safeguards.
