Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has applied to the President Abdul Hamid for one month’s leave on health grounds.
“The Chief Justice will go on one month’s leave from Tuesday on health grounds,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told journalists on Monday.
He said, “The Chief justice usually approves his own leave,” adding that his ministry received a letter in this regard yesterday.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said, “There was no pressure on him regarding 16th amendment verdict, he (Chief Justice) sought leave for one month showing personal reason.”
A gazette would be issued in this regard following the approval from the president, he added.
The Supreme Court Bar Association yesterday evening arranged a press briefing in the Supreme Court Bar building to express their concern about the news. Bar leaders also went to CJ’s residence to meet him but failed, bar secretary Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan told this reporter.
Senior Advocate and former President of the Supreme court Bar Association Khandker Mahbub Hossain said, “If there is any other mystery behind Chief Justice’s leave then it will be a great disaster on the Judiciary.”
The Supreme Court is starting its regular functions from Tuesday after one and a half months vacation. Now top most senior Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will act as Chief Justice, the Attorney General told the New Nation.
As per rules, Justice Md. Abdul Wahab Miah would be made acting chief justice, he said.
A vacation was running in the Supreme Court from August 27 to October 2. The Chief Justice was in foreign trip from September 8 to September 22.
In a verdict on July 3, 2017, the Supreme Court upheld a previous High Court verdict that declared illegal the 16th amendment of the constitution. By this verdict the Parliament lost its authority to impeach any apex court judge.
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha unanimously declared the amendment illegal, dismissing a government appeal.
The Supreme Court published the full verdict in its website on August 1, 2017. Controversy raised after publishing of the verdict.
The ruling Awami league was aggrieved about the verdict. Some ministers of the government, ruling party leaders and lawyers expressed their dissatisfaction about some observations by the Chief Justice. They also demanded the resignation of the Chief Justice.
The Parliament also accepted a proposal on September 14, 2017 to take some legal steps about some observations of the verdict.
The High Court in May last year ruled that the 16th amendment was illegal and unconstitutional as it found the changes went against the principles of the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.
In the legal battle with the HC, the government tried to defend the amendment which being passed in September 2014 abolished the chief justice-led Supreme Judicial Council to empower parliament.
On January 4 this year, it filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.
After hearing the arguments for and against the appeal for over 11 days, a seven-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on July 3, 2017 unanimously upheld the HC verdict by rejecting the appeal.
While announcing the short order, the chief justice said they dismissed the appeal unanimously with some observations. The observations was learnt after release of the copy of the full verdict on August 1, 2017.
