Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, now on one month’s leave on health grounds, on Sunday morning went to International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) in Dhaka for medical check-up.
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has undergone several medical tests at the ICDDR,B. The medical tests were done just before his trip abroad, sources said.
Personal Secretary to the Chief Justice, Mohammad Anisur Rahman, told The New Nation that Justice Sinha returned to his residence after giving the blood sample. He, however, could not give details about the physical condition of the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice is reportedly going to Australia to see his daughter and also for treatment purpose. Meanwhile, Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and his wife Sushoma Sinha received Australian visas for three years on Saturday.
The Chief Justice went on leave from October 3 ahead of retirement in January. The Law Minister and the Attorney General said he had taken leave because he is suffering from cancer.
On October 2, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Zainul Abedin alleged that the Chief Justice was forced to take a month’s leave.
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.
