The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the High Court order granting bail to former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque in five cases.
The cases relate to the killing of a Jubo Dal activist during the July movement, alleged forgery of a judgment on the caretaker government, and a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
A bench led by Chief Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury passed the order on Tuesday.
Earlier, on March 8, a High Court bench comprising Justice Md Khairul Alam and Justice Md Sagir Hossain granted bail to Khairul Haque in four cases after making the rule absolute. He was later granted bail in the ACC case on March 11.
Senior lawyers Mansorul Haque Chowdhury, Sara Hossain, Motahar Hossain Saju, Sayeed Ahmed Raja and Monayem Nabi Shaheen represented the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud appeared for the state.
The state later filed an appeal with the Appellate Division seeking a stay on the bail order.
During this period, Khairul Haque was also shown arrested in two additional cases filed with lower courts.
He was arrested by police from his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka on July 24, 2025. He was later shown arrested in the murder case of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Qayyum Ahad, filed over an incident in Jatrabari during the July movement.
In addition, several other cases were filed against him. On August 27, Supreme Court lawyer Mujahidul Islam Shaheen filed a case at Shahbagh Police Station alleging forgery of a judgment related to the caretaker government. On August 25, separate cases on similar allegations were filed at Fatullah and Bandar police stations in Narayanganj.
Earlier, on August 4, the ACC filed a case against him on charges of corruption related to plot allocation.
After being denied bail by lower courts in these cases, Khairul Haque sought bail from the High Court, which later issued rules and granted him bail in all five cases.
Khairul Haque was appointed the 19th chief justice of Bangladesh on September 27, 2010, and assumed office on September 30. He retired on May 17, 2011, and subsequently served as chairman of the Law Commission on three occasions.