Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Thursday applied for visa in the Australian embassy seeking permission to go to Australia.
“Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha’s daughter has been living in Australia. The CJ applied for Australian visa. He has completed all necessary formalities in getting visa. The Australian embassy will ensure visa within seven days,” Anisur Rahman, Personal Secretary of the Chief Justice, told journalists.
Meanwhile, Surendra Kumar Sinha went on one month’s leave on Tuesday, ahead of retirement in January next. The Law Minister and the Attorney General said that he had taken leave because he was suffering from cancer.
On Tuesday, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Zainul Abedin alleged that the Chief Justice was forced to take a month’s leave, a charge refuted by both the Law Minister and the Attorney General. They termed such a charge as “baseless”.
The Chief Justice’s leave application came on the heels of a widespread debate on the 16th Amendment case verdict that restored the provision of the Supreme Judicial Council after scrapping the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.
After the Chief Justice went on leave, the BNP and like-minded quarters alleged that he has been sent on forced leave ahead of retirement in January following an outrage in the ruling party over the verdict.
A number of Awami League leaders and pro-AL lawyers demanded the Chief Justice’s resignation, accusing him of undermining Parliament and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the 16th Amendment case verdict.
On September 13, the Jatiya Sangsad passed a resolution calling for legal steps to nullify the SC verdict. The Law Minister said on several occasions that the government would seek a review of the judgment.
