CJ Sinha resigns [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

CJ Sinha resigns

Local November 12, 2017

Chief Justice SK Sinha, now in Canada, resigned on Friday at the end of his 39-day leave.
His resignation letter, sent through the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Singapore, an hour before flying to Toronto, reached the President Saturday, a senior foreign ministry official told New Age.
‘The President’s Office received the letter of resignation of the Chief Justice,’ President’s press secretary Joynal Abedin told New Age.
The letter needs to be processed for a gazette notification, he said.
The resignation letter could not be processed at the weekend, he said.
From Manitoba, Canada, Justice Sinha’s younger daughter Asha Sinha told New Age that her father safely arrived at her home in good health on Friday night.
‘Sorry, no comments,’ she said being asked whether the Chief Justice would say anything about his resignation.’
Law minister Anisul Huq said that he was not aware how the Chief Justice resigned from abroad.
He said that senior most Appellate Division judge Md Abdul Wahhab Miah would continue as the Acting Chief Justice until the President appoints a new Chief Justice.
Anis said that law would take its own course regarding investigations into 11 allegations brought against Chief Justice Sinha by his five colleagues in a statement.
‘Nobody is above the law,’ he said.
But Supreme Court Bar Association president Zainul
Continued on page 2 Col. 5M Moneruzzaman
Chief Justice SK Sinha, now in Canada, resigned on Friday at the end of his 39-day leave.
His resignation letter, sent through the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Singapore, an hour before flying to Toronto, reached the President Saturday, a senior foreign ministry official told New Age.
‘The President’s Office received the letter of resignation of the Chief Justice,’ President’s press secretary Joynal Abedin told New Age.
The letter needs to be processed for a gazette notification, he said.
The resignation letter could not be processed at the weekend, he said.
From Manitoba, Canada, Justice Sinha’s younger daughter Asha Sinha told New Age that her father safely arrived at her home in good health on Friday night.
‘Sorry, no comments,’ she said being asked whether the Chief Justice would say anything about his resignation.’
Law minister Anisul Huq said that he was not aware how the Chief Justice resigned from abroad.
He said that senior most Appellate Division judge Md Abdul Wahhab Miah would continue as the Acting Chief Justice until the President appoints a new Chief Justice.
Anis said that law would take its own course regarding investigations into 11 allegations brought against Chief Justice Sinha by his five colleagues in a statement.
‘Nobody is above the law,’ he said.
But Supreme Court Bar Association president Zainul
Continued on page 2 Col. 5M Moneruzzaman
Chief Justice SK Sinha, now in Canada, resigned on Friday at the end of his 39-day leave.
His resignation letter, sent through the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Singapore, an hour before flying to Toronto, reached the President Saturday, a senior foreign ministry official told New Age.
‘The President’s Office received the letter of resignation of the Chief Justice,’ President’s press secretary Joynal Abedin told New Age.
The letter needs to be processed for a gazette notification, he said.
The resignation letter could not be processed at the weekend, he said.
From Manitoba, Canada, Justice Sinha’s younger daughter Asha Sinha told New Age that her father safely arrived at her home in good health on Friday night.
‘Sorry, no comments,’ she said being asked whether the Chief Justice would say anything about his resignation.’
Law minister Anisul Huq said that he was not aware how the Chief Justice resigned from abroad.
He said that senior most Appellate Division judge Md Abdul Wahhab Miah would continue as the Acting Chief Justice until the President appoints a new Chief Justice.
Anis said that law would take its own course regarding investigations into 11 allegations brought against Chief Justice Sinha by his five colleagues in a statement.
‘Nobody is above the law,’ he said.
But Supreme Court Bar Association president Zainul Abedin told reporters that the Chief Justice had been forced to leave Bangladesh and tender his resignation.
A close associate of Justice Sinha, who accompanied him to Singapore, told New Age over phone that the Chief Justice handed his resignation letter to Bangladesh ambassador Mustafizur Rahman at 7AM Friday.
Refusing to share his identity, he said that the ambassador came to the hotel room where the Chief Justice stayed until Friday morning to receive the resignation letter.
He said that Justice Sinha arrived in Singapore from Australia early morning on Monday for medical check-up.
He said that he said the resignation letter in which the Chief Justice said that he submitted the resignation letter in the interest of the judiciary.
The Chief Justice also said that he felt ‘embarrassed and physically and mentally sick’ over the way he was being criticized by some of the cabinet ministers and some of the ruling Awami League leaders.
He said that the Chief Justice was in gloomy mood while handing his resignation letter to the ambassador.
‘Enough is enough. I am totally fed up. I don’t to be dragged anymore over a verdict. Let them do whatever they like now,’ the associate quoted Justice Sinha as telling him in disgust.
Justice Sinha became the first Chief Justice to resign before completing his tenure of office.
His retirement was due on January 31, 2018.
On October 2, the law minister announced that the Chief Justice expressed his desire to go on leave for a month with effect from October 3, saying that was suffering from cancer and other diseases.
On October 3 the government made the next senior most Appellate Division judge, Justice Wahhab Miah as the Acting Chief Justice during Chief Justice SK Sinha’s absence on ‘sick leave’.
A law ministry notification on October 12 said that the 30-day ‘sick leave’ of the Chief Justice had been extended until November 10.
The notification also said that Justice Wahhab would continue as the Acting Chief Justice until Justice SK Sinha returns or rejoins.
On October 13, Justice Sinha left for Australia.
While leaving his official residence for the airport on October 13, Justice Sinha told waiting reporters in a written statement that he was going abroad for the time being and would return soon.
‘I am in sound health. But I am really embarrassed over the criticism being meted out to me by a political quarter, lawyers and especially by a few honourable ministers and even the honourable prime minister over a verdict,’ he said in the statement.
On October 14, in an unprecedented statement Supreme Court’s registrar general Syed Aminul Islam said that five fellow Appellate Division judges declined to share any bench with Chief Justice Sinha after the President handed to them documents relating to 11 specific allegations against Justice Sinha.
The same statement alleged that the allegations against Chief Justice Sinha included laundering money to foreign countries, financial irregularities, corruption and moral turpitude.
In August, lawyers toeing ruling Awami League’s political line held countrywide demonstrations demanding that the observations made by the Chief Justice in the 16th Amendment verdict be expunged by him.
The unanimous verdict of the apex court penned by Chief Justice SK Sinha, had scrapped the 16th Amendment which empowered Parliament to remove Supreme Court judges for misbehaviour and incapacity.
The full verdict was released on August 1.
On September 13, in a unanimous resolution Parliament demanded appropriate legal steps be taken to repeal the verdict that struck down the 16th Amendment, terming it ‘ultra vires and unconstitutional.