DB Joint Commissioner Mohammad Nasirul Islam confirmed the arrest to the media, stating, “Shortly after 8:00 AM, we detained former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque from his Dhanmondi residence. He will be taken to the DB office, and further actions will be taken against him.”
ABM Khairul Haque took oath as the 19th Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 30 September 2010 and retired on 17 May 2011 upon reaching the age of 67. During the final days of the Awami League government, he served as the Chairman of the Law Commission. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August of the previous year due to a student-public uprising, he resigned from the Law Commission on 13 August. Since then, he has not been seen in public.
During his tenure as Chief Justice, several controversial decisions were made, including the annulment of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which created a constitutional vacuum; the abolition of the Thirteenth Amendment, which eliminated the caretaker government system; the annulment of the Fifth Amendment enacted during former President Ziaur Rahman's tenure; the annulment of the Seventh Amendment enacted during former President Hussein Muhammad Ershad's tenure; the recognition of Bangabandhu as the declarer of independence; the validation of the government order to remove Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus; the eviction of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia from her cantonment residence; and the sentencing of the editor of the daily Amar Desh.
