Court dismisses petition to sue former chief justice Khairul Haque

A Dhaka court has dismissed a petition to file a case against former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque over his alleged involvement in fraud and forgery to alter the judgement that annulled the 13th amendment concerning the caretaker government. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Dilruba Afroz passed the order today (18 August) after lawyer Imrul Hasan filed the petition in the court.

“The court dismissed the petition as there was no material to file a case,” Imrul said.

Justice Khairul Haque was elevated to the Appellate Division in July 2009.

In September of 2010, Hasina government appointed him as the head of the judiciary, superseding two senior judges – Justice MA Matin and Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman.

His age, however, was not in his favour. By next May, he had reached the retirement age. 

But within this short window, Haque scripted one of the most important chapters of what was to come.

A week before his retirement, Justice Haque authored the lead verdict declaring the nonpartisan election time government “illegal”, ignoring strong pleas by eminent jurists such as Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, Barrister M Amir-ul Islam, former attorney and general Mahmudul Islam, all of whom strongly argued for retaining the interim government system for the sake of country’s nascent democracy.

Even three of the judges of the Appellate Division Justice Haque was leading did not consent to declaring the system “illegal”, giving dissenting verdicts. Three other judges, however, agreed with him, ensuring a stalemate. 

Justice Haque, then, cast the decisive vote. The non-partisan caretaker government was declared “illegal.”

His verdict gave Hasina the biggest political weapon to cling to power. The end of the caretaker system meant an end to the mechanism of checks and balances which ensured free and fair elections in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008.