Ex-CJ Khairul faces fresh arrest call

The planned release of former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque from prison has been put on hold after a new arrest application was filed in connection with the killing of madrasa student Md Arif during the July Uprising in Jatrabari.

The application was submitted on Tuesday by Sub-Inspector Mahmudul Hasan of Jatrabari Police Station. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque has scheduled a hearing for 30 March, requiring Justice Khairul’s presence, according to prosecution official SI Mohin Uddin.

Earlier, Khairul had secured bail in five cases filed during the interim government period, and his lawyer had indicated there were no obstacles to his release.

The new case, lodged on 25 August 2024 by Arif’s father Md Yusuf, names former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 243 others as suspects. It alleges that police and Awami League activists shot Arif on the morning of 19 July in Kutubkhali, Jatrabari.

Justice Khairul served as Chief Justice from 30 September 2010 to 17 May 2011, during which his bench nullified the 13th Constitutional Amendment, ending the caretaker government system.