Kazi Ebadul Hoque, a former judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and also a Language Movement hero, died at the age of 86.
He passed away during treatment at Dhaka's Samorita Hospital in the early hours of Friday, said Md Saifur Rahman, a spokesperson of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique expressed profound shock at the demise of Justice Hoque.
His first namaz-e-janaza was held on the Supreme Court premises after Juma prayers on Friday.
Chief Justice and other judges of the Appellate and High Court divisions, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Md Momtazuddin Fakir and Secretary Abdun Nur Dulal, Senior lawyer Barrister Jamir Uddin Sirker, Additional Attorney General SM Munir and Sheikh Mohammad Morshed, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, among others, were present at the janaza.
Justice Hoque was born on January 1, 1936 in Feni. He played an active role in organising the movement to establish Bangla as an official language of the then East Pakistan in Feni town. In 1954, he began serving as the convener of the Feni Language Movement Council.
After obtaining law degree from Dhaka University, he joined Feni bar in 1959 as a pleader. In 1965 he moved to Dhaka and enrolled as a lawyer of the High Court in 1966.
He joined the High Court Division as a judge in 1990 and set himself apart by writing verdicts in Bangla.
After 10 years in the High Court Division, he was appointed to the Appellate Division in 2000. But he retired from the bench after a year in 2001.
Justice Hoque had also served as the chairman of the Bangladesh Press Council. In 2016, he was awarded Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in the country, for his contributions to various fields.
bikashju@gmail.com