Former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque has been arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB). He was arrested from a house in the capital's Dhanmondi around 8:30 am on Thursday.

Joint Commissioner of the Intelligence Department Md. Nasirul Islam confirmed this information. He said, the former Chief Justice has been brought to the DB office on Minto Road in the capital. There are three cases against him in Jatrabari and Narayanganj in the capital. He will be shown arrested in any of the cases.

ABM Khairul Haque was sworn in as the 19th Chief Justice of the country on September 30, 2010. He retired on May 17, 2011, after turning 67.

Khairul Haque was the chairman of the Law Commission during the last years of the Awami League government. He resigned from the Law Commission on August 13 after the student uprising that toppled the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 last year. He has not been seen in public since then.

Justice Khairul Haque was favored in many ways during the Awami League government. He was made the Chief Justice by beating several senior judges. A few days before his retirement, he abolished the caretaker government system in the Thirteenth Amendment case. He also ruled that martyred President Ziaur Rahman was not the declarer of independence by bringing a political matter under the jurisdiction of the court. In addition, he administered the oath to several controversial judges, took away the jurisdiction of anticipatory bail, evicted Khaleda Zia from her cantonment house and abused her power, among other allegations against him.