The High Court (HC) yesterday directed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shahudul Haque to appear in court on Saturday to explain why proceedings on contempt of court should not be drawn against him.

The court issued a suo moto rule on the police chief asking him to explain why he would not face contempt charges for his use of language in a clarification sent to the registrar of the Supreme Court on queries in regard to a contempt case against five police sergeants in August.

The HC Division Bench of Justice MA Aziz and Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed -- set to conduct contempt proceedings -- issued the rule on and the directive to the IGP.

On a query from the court, the IGP sent a clarification containing some contemptuous statements degrading the status of a judge of the High Court, the court observed while issuing the rule and the directive.

On August 20, an HC Division Bench of Justice Md Tafazzul Islam and Justice AFM Abdur Rahman issued a notice of query on the IGP to explain whether they teach the warrant of precedence and conduct of behaviour to their police personnel.

Earlier, the HC bench issued a notice of query on the IGP and the principal of Sarda Police Academy while drawing contempt proceedings against five police personnel.

The contempt was drawn by the then justice of the HC division, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury, over an incident that occurred on June 23 near the Farmgate in the city between him and the said police personnel.

The HC said the police personnel did not salute Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury on his way to the court.

The IGP in his clarification sent to the registrar mentioned that 'a traffic policeman on duty is not obliged to salute anybody but a discretion is left to him to pay compliment to anybody without risking traffic accident. The duty of a driver is to obey the direction of the traffic policeman and he has no right to conduct a research as to whether the direction given by the traffic policeman is right or wrong'.

The IGP sought for drawing charges against Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury under relevant sections of the penal code, if not barred by the law, for the incident.

The IGP had levelled Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury in his clarification as a former justice reportedly removed from service.