Chowdhury, Justice Badrul Haider
Chowdhury, Justice Badrul Haider (1925-1998) jurist. Born on 1 January 1925 in Noakhali. Badrul Haider Chowdhury obtained MA degree in History from Calcutta University in 1948 and BL degree in 1951 from the University of Dhaka. Badrul Haider Chowdhury became a Barrister-at-Law in Linclon's Inn in 1955. From 1956 to early 1971 he was actively engaged in legal practice at the Dhaka High Court.
Badrul Haider was elevated to the Bench as a judge of the Dhaka High Court in April 1971. After the emergence of Bangladesh he was appointed a judge of the High Court in January 1972. He was elevated to the Appellate Division as a judge in 1978. As a judge, his decision in the 8th Amendment case is regarded by constitutional lawyers as a landmark in the legal history of the country. He was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 1 December 1989, and retired from service on 31 December of the same year.
Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury was also active in social work. He was chairman of the diabetic association of bangladesh in 1972, and chairman of the Cheshire Foundation Home Management Committee (1980-1998). After retirement he became president of the Bangladesh Society for Enforcement of Human Rights.
Badrul Haider Chowdhury wrote a book of reminiscence titled Those Were the Days (1956) which earned him reputation as a writer. His other works include The Long Echoes (1990) and The Evolution of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (1991). He died in Dhaka on 14 February 1998. [Kazi Ebadul Hoque]
