Chief Justice of Bangladesh Surendra Kumar Sinha on Saturday resigned, six weeks after he went on a leave amid criticism over a Supreme Court verdict that scraped a vital constitutional amendment.
Bangladesh President House Spokesman Joynal Abedin confirmed the receipt of Justice Sinha’s resignation letter from abroad to the President, a day after his month-long leave ended on Friday.
He led an appellate division bench of the Supreme Court, which scrapped the 16th amendment to the Constitution, stripping the Parliament’s power to impeach apex court judges on grounds of incapacity and misconduct. Justice Sinha had earlier drawn criticism more for the “observations” he made in the verdict than the judgment itself.
Reports said Mr. Sinha left Singapore on Friday for Canada to see his ailing daughter.
Ruling Awami League and many civil society leaders criticised Justice Sinha for his observations on Bangladesh politics, the Election Commission, governance and judiciary. They also accused him of “belittling” the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in his observations.
Rare statement
Immediate reasons behind Justice Sinha’s resignation could not be ascertained. In a rare statement issued by Justice Sinha on October 13, the day he left the country , he said he was “not sick” and the criticism over the verdict “embarrassed” him.
According to a Supreme Court statement, Justice Sinha faces 11 charges, including corruption, money laundering and moral lapse, for which his colleagues in the appellate division refused to work with him.
