Staff Reporter :
Former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has sought political asylum in Canada, corriere canadese (The Canada Courier) reports on Thursday.
SK Sinha along with his wife Sushma Sinha went to Canada on July 4 and applied for political asylum in that country.
Earlier on September 30 last year, Justice Sinha sought political asylum in the US citing risks to his life in Bangladesh. But he did not get any positive response from the country.
Sinha, Bangladesh’s first non-Muslim chief justice, left the country on October 13 last year for Australia.
He later sent his resignation letter on November 10. The president accepted his resignation on November 14. An autobiography of Justice Sinha titled “A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy” came out on September 16.
In the book, he detailed his early life, appointment as the chief justice, the separation of powers and the judiciary’s independence, the 16th constitutional amendment and its aftermath, ethical values of the judges and politicians, and the circumstances behind his resignation.
The former chief justice in his book claimed that he had stepped down and was exiled in the face of intimidation and threats from the current government. He also said the DGFI posed threats to his friends and family.
Sinha said he only described his last days as the chief justice and that he did not take any financial assistance from anyone for publishing his book.
